May 2, 2009

Box Score

GLVC Tournament: No. 5 Lewis 3, No. 3 Indianapolis 2 in PDF Format

East Peoria, Ill. - The Lewis University softball team will live to see another day, as the No. 5 Flyers edged No. 3 Indianapolis, 3-2, for the right to square off with No. 6 Northern Kentucky for the Great Lakes Valley Conference Tournament title on Sunday afternoon at the EastSide Centre's Mizuno Field.

With the victory, Lewis improves to 38-17, while the Greyhounds fall to 31-18.

Lewis starting pitcher Diana Pickrum (Oak Forest, Ill./Oak Forest) improved to 11-1 on the campaign, allowing two runs and six hits in six innings of work while fanning one. Senior reliever Courtney Lyons (San Pedro, Calif./San Pedro) tossed a scoreless seventh inning to earn her school-record sixth save of the season and career-record 15th save.

"Diana Pickrum pitched a wonderful game against one of the most explosive offenses in the GLVC," Lewis head softball coach George DiMatteo said. "She used her change-up and other pitches very well to keep them off-balance.

"We know what we're up against in NKU," DiMatteo continued. "It's always a challenge to beat a team like NKU twice, but this team is capable."

UIndy starting pitcher Megan Russell took the complete-game loss for the Greyhounds, scattering eight hits and allowing three earned runs to fall to 14-9 on the campaign.

The Greyhounds got on the board first, as leadoff hitter Jamie Keltz began the game with a solo homer off of Pickrum.

Lewis answered in the next frame with three runs off of Russell. Senior first baseman Carissa Castonzo (Hawthorn Woods, Ill./Lake Zurich) roped a two-run double, while sophomore third baseman Stephanie Trapp (Tinley Park, Ill./Andrew) added a sacrifice fly.

The Greyhounds narrowed Lewis' lead to 3-2 in the fifth inning, as Keltz plated shortstop Carmen Martinez with a sacrifice fly. UIndy had the tying run on third base and the go-ahead run at the plate in Russell, who was the GLVC Player of the Year, and Pickrum struck her out to end the frame.

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.

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