May 9, 2010
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GLVC Softball Championship: Lewis 7, Northern Kentucky 5 in PDF Format 
East Peoria, Ill. - The Lewis University softball team won its first Great Lakes Valley Conference Tournament title in six years and their ninth overall, as the Flyers claimed the 7-5 victory over Northern Kentucky at the Eastside Center on Sunday (May 9) afternoon.
"Our team played well in regular season and we thought we had a good shot of winning the conference title," Lewis head softball coach George DiMatteo said. "We peaked at the right time because our pitching, defense, base running and offense all seemed to gel together.
"It's never easy to win the GLVC, because there is always so many good teams," DiMatteo continued. "It's a great testament to character of this team and I'm so proud of the way they rallied around each other."
With the win, Lewis improves to 37-15 overall, while the Norse fall to 34-18. Lewis will now await their opponent in the upcoming NCAA Division II Regionals, as the selection show will be held at 9 AM on Monday (May 10) morning.
Lewis was led offensively by junior outfielder Sarah Hurley (Bolingbrook, Ill./Plainfield Central) and freshman shortstop Michelle Vucsko (Chicago, Ill./Marist). Hurley roped a three-run homer in the third inning, while Vucsko was 1-for-2 with three RBI and one run scored. Freshman center fielder Jayme Hefler (Glen Ellyn, Ill./Glenbard West) went 2-for-4 with three runs scored. Hefler now owns the single-season record for runs scored with 55, breaking the previous record of 53 set by Robin Martz in 2005.
Lewis sophomore pitcher Karissa Habel (Downers Grove, Ill./Downers Grove South) earned the win for the Flyers as she allowed five runs and six hits in 4.2 innings of work to improve to 18-7 on the campaign. Junior reliever Diana Pickrum (Oak Forest, Ill./Oak Forest) tossed 2.1 innings of hitless and scoreless relief to earn her first save of the season.
Northern Kentucky starting pitcher April Ehlers (15-13) took her second loss in as many appearances against the Flyers, allowing six runs and five hits in four innings.
The nerves were apparent in the top of the first for the Norse, as Hefler reached base on a fielding error by NKU third baseman Katie Sullivan.
Two consecutive passed balls by Norse catcher Jamie Raabe moved Hefler to third and she would score on a squeeze bunt by Vucsko to give Lewis a 1-0 lead.
The Norse, however, did not flinch as NKU first baseman Ashley Gates connected for a three-run home run off of Habel to give them a 3-1 advantage in the bottom of the first.
Lewis saw Gates' three-run bomb and matched it with one of their own, as Hurley took Ehlers deep with a three-run shot, to propel the Flyers to a 4-3 lead.
The lead, however, was short lived as NKU freshman right fielder Emily Schwaeble roped a two-out, two-run line drive home run in the bottom of the third inning to give the Norse the 5-4 advantage.
The Flyers matched NKU's two-spot in the third with two tallies in the fourth inning on a RBI groundout by Vucsko and a RBI double by junior first basman Stephanie Harmon (Joliet, Ill./Plainfield South) to take their third lead of the game at 6-5.
Lewis tacked on an insurance run in the sixth inning, as Vucsko carded her third RBI of the afternoon with a run-scoring double that plated Hefler to increase the Flyers' lead to 7-5.
The Flyer caught a break in the bottom of the sixth inning, as Hurley robbed Gates of her second home run of the afternoon as she leaped over the fence for a run saving catch.
"Sarah's three run homer got us going, but that catch under those circumstances with a two-run lead in the championship game - that's when we knew there was something special going on," DiMatteo said.
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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