May 4, 2007

Box Score

EAST PEORIA, Ill. - For the second time in the same day, Courtney Lyons earned a win in the circle and hit home the game-winning RBI, as No. 7 Lewis defeated Quincy 7-1, Friday evening in the second round of the Great Lakes Valley Conference Championship Tournament.

With the win, the top-seeded Flyers (33-10) improved to 2-0 in the double-elimination tournament and advanced to face No. 2 seed Southern Illinois Edwardsville on Saturday at 3 pm. The No. 13 Cougars topped Wisconsin-Parkside 3-1 to reach the semifinal.

Against Quincy, Lewis sent 10 batters to the plate in the top of the seventh inning and scored six times with two outs to break a 1-1 tie and earn the win.

The Flyers entered the top seventh with just one hit in the game and were down to their final out in the inning when Kristy Vanek and Carla Musillo registered back-to-back hits to bring Lyons to the plate. Lyons, who recorded the game-winning RBI with a double in the Flyers' first-round game, ripped a rocket through the pitchers' legs and into center to score both Vanek and Musillo from second and third.

Michelle Yudys came up next and singled to left field for an RBI. Christina Willis then reached on a hard-hit ball that was knocked down by the Quincy second baseman, and Beth Shelus cleared the bases with a triple to right. Mallory Paine plated Shelus with a single to left for the seventh run.

Lyons (15-3) picked up the win after pitching the final two innings and allowing just one hit. Lisa Gartland pitched the first five innings for Lewis, yielding only three hits and one run to a Quincy team which had scored 13 runs in its first-round contest earlier in the day.

Lewis scored its first run of the game in the in the fourth with two outs when Vanek dropped a squeeze bunt to score Paine from third. Quincy tied the score in the bottom half after a double and a run-scoring single.