Purdue Fort Wayne
Western Illinois
IPFW Finishes Second in Summit League Championships
5/10/2008 12:00:00 AM | Softball
May 10, 2008
Southern Utah Box Score | Western Illinois Box Score
Cedar City, UT - The IPFW Mastodons fell in the finals of the Summit League softball tournament, topping Southern Utah 6-4 in the opening game before falling 17-2 in what ended up being the tournament championship.
IPFW opened the scoring in the first game, when Abby Liden hit her school record eighth home run of the season, a solo shot, giving the visitors on the scoreboard a 1-0 lead. Southern Utah answered back, with the Thunderbirds scoring a pair of runs in the bottom of the opening inning.
The `Dons would not trail for long, as the team scored four runs in the top of the second inning, the first two runs coming on a triple by Beatrice Pedraza, driving in Ty Lambert and Amanda Olender, scoring herself when the throw from the second baseman could not be corralled by the Thunderbird third baseman. Kayla Powell followed by scoring on an error by the SUU shortstop, pushing IPFW to a 5-2 lead.
Two runs by Southern Utah in the bottom of the fourth inning cut the deficit to one at 5-4 until a Powell single scored Olender. The Thunderbirds could not put together a rally, sending the `Dons to face off against Western Illinois.
Powell was 3-for-4 at the plate in the game, with Pedraza going 2-for-3 and Rachel Staschuk and Olender each going 2-for-4. Pedraza drove in two, with Olender scoring twice. Staschuk picked up the victory on the mound, pitching the first four innings of the game, with Olender picking up the save, pitching a scoreless final three innings.
In the afternoon finale, Western Illinois scored three runs in both the first and second innings, taking off to a 6-0 lead, and added to their lead with three more runs in the top of the sixth, giving the visitors on the scoreboard a 9-0 lead.
IPFW rallied for two runs in the bottom of the sixth, only to see the Westerwinds pour it on with eight runs in the top of the seventh, giving the game its 17-2 final score.
Powell was a perfect 3-for-3 at the plate in the finale, with the team's other four hits came from different batters.
IPFW ends the 2008 season with an 18-24 overall record.
