SIUE softball prepares for first round GLVC?tournament action on Thursday
Zachary Groves
Issue date: 5/1/08 Section: Sports
The accolades are rolling for the SIUE softball team as it looks to defend its NCAA Division II national title, starting with the Great Lakes Valley Conference tournament.
The Cougars are on a 14-game winning streak, while they own a No. 1 ranking in fielding percentage and a No. 22 team ranking nationally. Additionally, senior first baseman Mallory Ruggles and junior lefty Kaitlin Colosimo swept the GLVC weekly honors for top player and pitcher, respectively.
"We're starting to head in the right direction," Ruggles said. "We had a roller coaster (season) last season. All I can hope for at conference tournament time … we can make excellent plays and get timely hits so we can score the runs."
As for the winning streak, the 41-9 Cougars needed extra innings to beat Bellarmine University 6-5 Sunday for win No. 14 and the doubleheader sweep in Louisville, Ky. SIUE trailed by one in the top of the seventh inning when junior second baseman Lindsay Longfellow drove in a sac fly RBI to tie the game 2-2. The Cougars then rallied for four runs in the ninth, led by Ruggles' three-run homer, only to get a scare when the Knights responded with three runs with two outs in the bottom of the inning on four hits and an error.
However, Colosimo forced a groundout to end the game.
"We're told never to be complacent," freshman pitcher Erika Taylor said. "We short gamed them the first game then we thought that it was going to be just as easy the second game, and Bellarmine played the opposite."
Taylor referred to the Cougars' 9-1 rout of the Knights in the first game. The contest ended after five innings because of the eight-run mercy rule. SIUE also pummeled the Northern Kentucky University Norse Saturday in a doubleheader for 8-0 and 9-1 victories. Ruggles drove in six runs during the weekend. "We're hitting pretty well (right now)," SIUE Head Coach Sandy Montgomery said. SIUE, the conference No. 2 seed, will face the University of Missouri-St. Louis in East Peoria Thursday for a rematch of last week's doubleheader sweep. The Cougars pulled out consecutive 1-0 victories against the Tritons.
"I know that if I was them, I'd be ready to play," Ruggles said of UMSL. "I'd be excited to get to do something like that, knowing that they beat us 1-0 (both games). It's normally the teams that are up to play against us it gives us a fire. I think it's going to help us."
Montgomery said the Cougars have not peaked yet, so the tournament could bring out their best.
"I have no doubt we'll score," Montgomery said. "We'll make adjustments."
The Cougars are on a 14-game winning streak, while they own a No. 1 ranking in fielding percentage and a No. 22 team ranking nationally. Additionally, senior first baseman Mallory Ruggles and junior lefty Kaitlin Colosimo swept the GLVC weekly honors for top player and pitcher, respectively.
"We're starting to head in the right direction," Ruggles said. "We had a roller coaster (season) last season. All I can hope for at conference tournament time … we can make excellent plays and get timely hits so we can score the runs."
As for the winning streak, the 41-9 Cougars needed extra innings to beat Bellarmine University 6-5 Sunday for win No. 14 and the doubleheader sweep in Louisville, Ky. SIUE trailed by one in the top of the seventh inning when junior second baseman Lindsay Longfellow drove in a sac fly RBI to tie the game 2-2. The Cougars then rallied for four runs in the ninth, led by Ruggles' three-run homer, only to get a scare when the Knights responded with three runs with two outs in the bottom of the inning on four hits and an error.
However, Colosimo forced a groundout to end the game.
"We're told never to be complacent," freshman pitcher Erika Taylor said. "We short gamed them the first game then we thought that it was going to be just as easy the second game, and Bellarmine played the opposite."
Taylor referred to the Cougars' 9-1 rout of the Knights in the first game. The contest ended after five innings because of the eight-run mercy rule. SIUE also pummeled the Northern Kentucky University Norse Saturday in a doubleheader for 8-0 and 9-1 victories. Ruggles drove in six runs during the weekend. "We're hitting pretty well (right now)," SIUE Head Coach Sandy Montgomery said. SIUE, the conference No. 2 seed, will face the University of Missouri-St. Louis in East Peoria Thursday for a rematch of last week's doubleheader sweep. The Cougars pulled out consecutive 1-0 victories against the Tritons.
"I know that if I was them, I'd be ready to play," Ruggles said of UMSL. "I'd be excited to get to do something like that, knowing that they beat us 1-0 (both games). It's normally the teams that are up to play against us it gives us a fire. I think it's going to help us."
Montgomery said the Cougars have not peaked yet, so the tournament could bring out their best.
"I have no doubt we'll score," Montgomery said. "We'll make adjustments."
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