April 9, 2009

Box Score

Game 1: Lewis 4, Southern Indiana 0 in PDF Format

Game 2: Lewis 8, Southern Indiana 4 in PDF Format

Evansville, Ind. - For the second straight day, Lewis' pitching combination of senior Courtney Lyons (San Pedro, Calif./San Pedro) and sophomore Diana Pickrum (Oak Forest, Ill./Oak Forest) proved to be a difficult problem to solve as the visiting Flyers picked up the 4-0, 8-3 Great Lakes Valley Conference sweep over Southern Indiana at USI Softball Field on Thursday afternoon.

"These were huge wins for us," Lewis University head softball coach George DiMatteo said. "We needed the sweep to get back on track and move this team in a positive direction."

Lyons (7-7) extended her scoreless streak to 15.1 innings, as she earned her second-straight complete-game shutout over USI in the opener. Pickrum (9-0) remains flawless on the season as she scattered 10 hits over six innings of relief in the night cap.

Lewis junior second baseman Kara Harmatys (Homer Glen, Ill./Lockport) was the offensive catalyst for the Flyers in the twin-bill, as she went 3-for-7 with five RBI in the sweep.

"Kara is seeing and hitting the ball real well," DiMatteo said. "She's a clutch hitter and I want her batting in big situations."

With the sweep, Lewis improves to 27-12 on the season and 9-5 in GLVC action, while the host Screaming Eagles drop to 9-29 overall and 1-11 in conference play.

Lyons helped her cause in Game One, as she broke a scoreless tie in the fifth inning with a two-out, RBI single. The Flyers would tack on another run in the sixth, with a RBI single from Harmatys and two more in the seventh inning with RBI hits from both sophomore designated player Stephanie Harmon (Joliet, Ill./Plainfield South) and senior shortstop Kelly Dianis (Hinsdale, Ill./Hinsdale Central). Harmon was the lone Flyer to collect two hits in the opener.

Dawn McClellan (3-11) took the complete-game loss for USI, as she allowed four runs, two earned, while fanning one.

The Flyers had to come-from-behind in Game Two, as USI took a 3-2 lead into the fourth inning. Lewis answered with a six-run explosion, highlighted by a three-run RBI double from Harmatys, to help secure the victory.

USI's Hadley Clark (2-6) was tagged with the complete-game loss for the Screaming Eagles, allowing eight runs and 10 hits, while striking out six batters.

Lewis returns to action on Wednesday, April 15th, as the Flyers travel to Kenosha, Wisconsin to square off with UW-Parkside for a doubleheader beginning at 3 p.m.

A Catholic university sponsored by the De La Salle Christian Brothers, Lewis offers nearly 80 undergraduate majors and programs of study, accelerated degree completion options for working adults, various aviation programs and 22 graduate programs in nine fields. The 10th largest private, not-for-profit university in Illinois is being honored for the fifth consecutive year by The Princeton Review and U.S. News & World Report. For more information please visit www.lewisu.edu.

##LEWIS##