By Rich Green
IV Leader Associate/Sports Editor, May 7, 2009
The Eagles softball team finished the year with an overall record of 19-12, good enough for second place in the Arrowhead Conference and third place in Region IV.
The Eagles finished the Regional tournament with a 3-2 record in three games played May 2-3 at Highland Community College.
Game 1 on May 2, the Eagles lost 2-0 in 11 innings against Kishwaukee.
In Game 2 the Lady Eagles bounced back against rival Sauk Valley 5-3
IVCC was represented by three players making the All Tournament Team: Pitcher Mel Sebasitano, outfielder Mandy Towne and third baseman Stacey Kinzer.
In Game 3 the Eagles lost another extra inning game against Kishwaukee 1-0 in eight innings.
The first round regional game was at IVCC vs. Highland.
Eagles take two from Highland
Dominant pitching and timely hitting were the keys to victory as the Eagles swept two games from Highland Community College on April 29.
Back-to-ack strong pitching performances by Mel Sebastiano and Eryn Dougherty led the way as the Eagles took Game 1 2-1 and Game 2 6-3.
In Game 1 IVCC was led by a tough pitching performance by Sebastiano. She went seven innings allowing only an unearned run while striking out four and walking zero.
“I feel like I pitched really well,” Sebastiano said of her outing. “My infield, my outfield were both spectacular. We didn’t let any balls get by, which was really nice.”
The Lady Eagles jumped out to an early 1-0 lead when Jheri Emmerling scored on a two out double by left fielder Mandy Towne.
Things were quiet until the top of the fifth inning when highland answered back with a run of their own.
A dropped third strike, back to back singles, and and error on third baseman Stacy Kinzer led to the Cougars only run.
“When we put somebody on free they tend score on us,” said Head Coach Cory Tomasson.
Two straight bases loaded groundouts ended Highland’s threat in the fifth.
In the bottom half of the inning IVCC rebounded when a bunt single and stolen base by Aly Novak led to another Mandy Towne RBI. Towne finished game one going 2-3 drving in the only two runs.
In Game 2 Jheri Emmerling went 3-4 with three RBIs and starting pitcher Eryn Doughtery gave coach Tomasson another strong effort going seven innings while only giving up one earned run as IVCC won 6-3.
The Eagles again jumped to an early lead when in the second inning they scored four runs.
Megan Pyska scored on an error and rightfielder Amy Gumm drove in two with a single giving the Eagles a 3-0. Emmerling capped off the inning with a single of her own, plating Gumm, making the game 4-0
Emmerling came back in the bottom of the fourth with another RBI single increasing IVCC’s lead 5-1.
The Lady Eagles found themselves in a bit of trouble after a near costly two out error by second baseman Ashlee McDowell led to a two run scoring double by Cougars left fielder Steph Reidel.
Coach Tomasson defended his second basemen.
“Our second baseman’s knee has been tweaked for the last week, Tomasson said. “We actually didn’t play her our last game of the regular season because of that. She’s still in the lineup, she’s a real baller. She wants to play every inning of every game.”
Dougherty escaped a bases loaded jam in the top of the seventh to collect the victory and clinched the regional game for the Eagles.