May 8, 2010

Box Score

GLVC Softball Tournament: Lewis 1, Northern Kentucky 0 in PDF Format

East Peoria, Ill. - Lewis University's Traci Freitag (Westmont, Ill./Hinsdale Central) saw an opening and made a break for it, as the sophomore third baseman scored on a wild pitch by Northern Kentucky's April Ehlers in the bottom of the sixth inning to help the Flyers to the 1-0 victory over the Norse to advance to the Great Lakes Valley Conference Softball Championship at the Eastside Centre on Saturday (May 8) afternoon.

Freitag opened the sixth inning with a bunt single and moved over to second base on a sacrifice bunt by sophomore catcher Mary Giancarlo (Plainfield, Ill./Plainfield South). Freitag advanced to third on a passed ball by NKU catcher Jamie Raabe, as freshman shortstop Michelle Vucsko (Chicago, Ill./Marist) was at the plate.

Ehlers then uncorked a wild pitch that did not stray far from Raabe, but home plate umpire Ed Vodvarka kicked the ball away, allowing Freitag to score.

"I knew that with Michelle batting, that she'd see a steady diet of change-ups," Lewis head softball coach George DiMatteo said. "I told Traci to be alert and as soon as that ball got by, she was going. That play was all because of Traci's aggressiveness."

With the win, Lewis advances to the GLVC Championship game on Sunday (May 9) at noon and improves to 36-15, while the Norse drop to 33-17.

Lewis junior pitcher Diana Pickrum (Oak Forest, Ill./Oak Forest) turned in a masterful performance in the circle for the Flyers. Pickrum (10-4) tossed a complete-game, three-hit shutout while striking out four batters.

"Diana Pickrum pitched a magnificent game," DiMatteo said. "She kept their big htters off balance today and our defense behind her was just perfect."

Ehlers (15-12) took the loss for the Norse, despite allowing just one unearned run and four hits while striking out five batters in six innings.

A Catholic university sponsored by the De La Salle Christian Brothers, Lewis offers nearly 90 undergraduate majors and programs of study, accelerated degree completion options for working adults, various aviation programs and 22 graduate programs in nine fields. The ninth largest private, not-for-profit university in Illinois is being honored for the sixth consecutive year by The Princeton Review and U.S. News & World Report. Please visit www.lewisu.edu for more information.

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