May 1, 2009
Box Score
GLVC Softball Tournament: Lewis 4, Missouri-St. Louis 2 in PDF Format 
East Peoria, Ill. - The Lewis University softball team has picked the right time to peak, as the No. 5 seeded Flyers extended their season-best winning streak to eight games with the 4-2 upset victory over top-seeded Missouri-St. Louis in the Great Lakes Valley Conference Tournament at the EastSide Centre's Mizuno Field on Friday afternoon.
The Flyers are now one game away from advancing to the GLVC Tournament championship game.
"This was a big win for us," Lewis head softball coach George DiMatteo said. "We're excited to be in a position to be one game away from the conference championship. Lots of good things happened today."
With the victory, Lewis (37-16) advances to the semifinals of the winner's bracket and will square off with Northern Kentucky at 3 p.m. on Saturday afternoon. UMSL falls to 35-16 and will face Indianapolis at 11 a.m. on Saturday.
The Flyers touched UMSL starting pitcher Crystal Koehler for four runs in the bottom of the third inning, highlighted by a two-run single from Brittany Patete (Lombard, Ill./Glenbard East) and RBI singles from Stephanie Harmon (Joliet, Ill./Plainfield South) and Carissa Castonzo (Hawthorn Woods, Ill./Lake Zurich).
That fourth inning was all that Lewis starting pitcher Julie Wingerter (Channahon, Ill./Minooka) needed. The Channahon, Ill., native allowed two runs, six hits and struck out seven batters in six innings of work to improve her record to 9-4 on the season.
"That inning gave us some breathing room," DiMatteo said. "Julie pitched the game she's capable of pitching and kept the UMSL batters off-balance all game."
UMSL posted their first run in the top of the fifth inning, as second baseman Stephanie Kelly launched a one-out, solo home run off of Wingerter to narrow Lewis' advantage to 4-1. Lewis' lead was cut in half in the top of the seventh, as UMSL catcher Katie Bartlett drove in Tritons' pinch-runner Sarah Estopare with a RBI double that chased Wingerter from the game.
DiMatteo brought in senior pitcher Courtney Lyons (San Pedro, Calif./San Pedro) for the final three outs and her fifth save of the season.
That save ties her for the Lewis single-season record, previously set by Anna Speck (1989), and also ties her for the career-record of 14, set by Carrie Paradzinski (2001-04).
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 mid-sized university 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##
