Two MVC Teams in NCAA Tournament

After only receiving the single automatic bid to the 2009 NCAA Softball Tournament a season ago, the MVC was able to send two teams to the 2010 NCAA Tournament this season.

As the winner of the MVC Tournament, Creighton is the recipient of this year's automatic bid. The Bluejays have been sent to Columbia, MO to participate in the regional hosted by the University of Missouri this weekend. Creighton is the #4 seed in the field and will take on the #1 seed Missouri Tigers in the opening contest on Friday. Mizzou is the #9 national seed in the overall tournament. Rounding out the field in Columbia is second-seeded University of Illinois of the Big Ten and third-seeded DePaul of the Big East.

Regular season league runner-up Illinois State is the recipient of an at-large bid into the field of 64 in the 2010 NCAA Softball Tournament. The Redbirds will travel to Ann Arbor, MI to participate in the regional hosted by the University of Michigan this weekend. Illinois State is teh #3 seed in the field and will take on the second seeded Notre Dame Fighting Irish of the Big East on Friday. Rounding out the field in Ann Arbor is the top seeded Michigan Wolverines of the Big Ten (the overall #2 national seed) and the Wright State Raiders from the Horizon League.

GO SYCAMORES!

MVC All Conference Teams

The Sycamores were left out of the All Conference awards at the end of the season. All of the other nine Missouri Valley Confernece schools were represented on the 2010 teams. Here are those teams:


2010 MVC Softball All-Conference Team
Pos. Name, School Yr.
P Danielle Glosson, Southern Illinois Jr.
P Tara Oltman, Creighton Sr.
C Elizabeth Kay, Illinois State Fr.
1B Renae Sinkler, Creighton Sr.
2B Kara Nelson, Illinois StateJr.
3B Abby Olson, Illinois State Jr.
SS Niki Stansell, Illinois State Sr.
OF Megan Machovec, UNI Sr.
OF Jenna Schwark, Missouri State Jr.
OF Katie Wilson, Southern Illinois Sr.
DP-P Jen Larsen, UNI Sr.
DP-U Caitlin Chapin, Missouri State Fr.
DP-U Amy Baker, Creighton Fr.
DP-P Jenna DeLong, Drake Jr.
2B Alicia Garza, Southern Illinois Sr.
SS Amy Gaertner, Evansville So.
DP-U Allie Hanson, Southern Illinois Sr.

Player of the Year: Renae Sinkler, Creighton
Pitcher of the Year: Danielle Glosson, Southern Illinois
Newcomer of the Year: Elizabeth Kay, Illinois State
Coaching Staff of the Year: Southern Illinois (Kerri Blaylock, Christy Connoyer, Jen Sewell, Mark Cosgrove)

2010 MVC Softball All-Conference Second Team
Pos. Name, School Yr.
P Brynne Dordel, Drake Jr.
P Megan Warner, Illinois State So.
C Heather Gerritse, Wichita State Jr.
1B Jen Stahlhut, Evansville Jr.
2B Christa Gammon, Missouri State Jr.
3B Michelle Graner, Creighton Sr.
SS Mackenzie Daigh, UNI- So.
OF Mallory Duran, Southern Illinois So.
OF Jhavon Hamilton, Illinois State Fr.
OF Janay Mitchell, Bradley Sr.
DP-P Amanda Clack, Bradley Sr.
DP-U Eranne Daugharthy, UNI Jr.
C Erin Mollohan, Drake Jr.
1B Jamie Hull, Wichita State Jr.
SS Michelle Koch, Creighton Sr.
1B Michelle Henderson, Illinois State Sr.
C Cristina Trapani, Southern Illinois Jr.

GO SYCAMORES!

Season Wrap Up

The Sycamores finished the 2010 season with a 20-31 overall mark - giving the Sycamores four seasons in the last five with at least 20 victories. The graduating senior class leaves with 81 career victories, tied for the second most of any class in the last 15 years behind the graduates from one season ago.

The 2010 team finishes in the program's all time top 10 in the following categories:
Pitching Strikeouts - 1st
Home Runs - 3rd
Walks - 4th
Runs Scored - Tied for 7th
At Bats - 7th
Doubles - Tied for 8th
RBIs - 8th
Slugging Percentage - 10th

Individually, the following single season marks were set by members of the 2010 team:
Senior Meagan McCurdy finished with the 5th most strikeouts in a season and tied for 7th most shutouts in a season.
Sophomore Bailey Wittenauer finished tied for the 3rd most RBIs in a season, tied for 4th most doubles in a season, and tied for 4th most home runs in a season.
Junior Steph Jonson tied for 4th most home runs in a season.
Sophomore Lindsey Beisser tied for 7th most home runs in a season.

In the career records department, Meagan McCurdy appears in numerous pitching categories:
2nd in Strikeouts
5th in Victories
5th in Games Started
6th in Innings Pitched
7th in Shutouts

GO SYCAMORES!

Sycamores Win Final Conference Series of Season

Finishing up the 2010 season, the Sycamores took two-of-three games from Wichita State this weekend to finish in 9th place in the MVC standings. On Saturday, ISU took game one in dramatic fashion, scoring two runs in the bottom of the 7th inning to win 3-2 before dropping game two in extra-innings by a 2-0 score. Sunday, ISU won the rubber match on Senior Day, defeating the Shockers by a 1-0 margin.

In game one, the Sycamores outhit the Shockers by a 7-4 margin, and the game was tied at 1-1 going into the top of the 7th inning. Wichita was able to get a run in the top of the 7th, but ISU responded with two runs of their own in the bottom of the 7th to get the win. So. Lindsey Beisser got the pitching win for ISU and the game winning two RBI single in the bottom of the 7th. Beisser struck out 6 and allowed only 4 hits in the contest. So. Bailey Wittenauer hit her team leading 13th double of the season in the victory. In game two, ISU had multiple opportunities to score, but were unable to break through - stranding 11 runners in the 8 inning loss. Two errors in the top of the 8th inning proved costly, as the Shockers scored two unearned runs to get the victory. Both teams had seven hits in the contest. On Sunday, the three ISU seniors - Kacy Kestner, Meagan McCurdy, and Amber Paz - finished their Sycamore careers with a 1-0 victory. McCurdy threw a two hit shutout (her 5th shutout of the season) as ISU scored in the 1st inning and didn't allow the Shockers to score throughout the contest. Fr. Kim Pierce led the offense with a 2-3 day at the plate. McCurdy only allowed two infield singles on the day - with one in the 1st inning and one in the 2nd inning. The only others to reach base came on two walks and a strikeout on a wild pitch that allowed the batter to reach 1st base. With the victory, the Sycamores moved into 9th in the final standings in the MVC race.

GO SYCAMORES!

Softball Wins "Sycamore Cup"

In news that I failed to report earlier this season, the Softball team was the recipient of the "Sycamore Cup" among the athletic teams at Indiana State for the second straight season. The award was given at the Scholar-Athlete Banquet. The Sycamore Cup recognizes the team that shows the devotion to success in all aspects of life, through community service, school spirit, academic achievement and leadership on campus. Congratulations!
GO SYCAMORES!

Tournament Hopes End

After dropping three games to Missouri State in Springfield over the weekend, the Sycamores will not be able to qualify for the MVC softball tournament. This will be the first time the Sycamores have not qualified since 2005. Going into the year, ISU was one of four Valley schools that had managed to qualify for each conference tournament since 2006, but that streak will end. The other three schools - Illinois State, Missouri State, and Southern Illinois - will all keep their streak alive.
In Springfield, the Sycamores dropped both games Saturday, losing the opener 8-7 in 9 innings before dropping the second contest 5-3. In the game one loss, ISU left 13 runners on base, while the Bears only stranded six. Jr. Steph Jonson hit her 5th home run of the season in the loss, and So. Lindsey Beisser returned to action after taking a line drive directly off the head while pitching a couple of weekends ago. After the disappointing loss in game one, ISU jumped on the board with two runs in the top of the 1st of game two, but couldn't hold onto the lead in the 5-3 setback. In the final game on Sunday, So. Bailey Wittenauer connected on her first collegiate grand slam (her 5th home run of the season), but it wasn't enough in a 9-5 loss to the Bears.
With the losses and the results in other contests around the league, the Sycamores can finish no better than 9th in the final conference standings.
The Sycamores will conclude the 2010 season this weekend at home, hosting the Wichita State Shockers. On Sunday, the three seniors - Kacy Kestner, Meagan McCurdy, and Amber Paz - will be recognized.
GO SYCAMORES!