University News

WIU Softball Claims Top Seed in Summit League Championship

May 6, 2009

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Courtesy of WIU Athletics

MACOMB, IL -- Western Illinois clinched the top seed in the 2009 Summit League Softball Championship after finishing a top the regular-season standings with a 21-2 league record. North Dakota State earned the No. 2 seed, while Centenary and Southern Utah will be the third and fourth seeds, respectively.

The double-elimination tournament will be held Friday and Saturday, May 8-9, at Mary Ellen McKee Softball Stadium on the Western Illinois University-Macomb campus. The winner of The Summit League title will earn the league's automatic berth into the NCAA Tournament.

Western Illinois wrapped up its league season with an impressive .913 winning percentage and lost just two league games this season, one to Centenary and the second to North Dakota State. WIU will play No. 4 Southern Utah (23-29, 13-11) in its first round match-up at 10 a.m., Friday. The second game pits third-seeded Centenary (32-21, 13-9) against No. 2 North Dakota State (32-17, 19-4) at 12:15 p.m.

The Westerwinds enter The Summit League Championship looking to win their second consecutive tournament title. Western is led offensively by Beth Golotko who is hitting .386 with 16 runs scored, 17 RBI and a pair of home runs. In league games, Julie DePolo led The Summit League in runs scored with 25, while Lauren Furgala led the league with 10 doubles and 56 total bases. In the circle, senior right-hander Kamren Ferguson owns a league-best 1.84 ERA with 19 wins and has fanned 144 batters in 167.1 innings of work.

North Dakota State is in contention for The Summit League Championship for the first time since joining the league in 2007. The Bison claimed the 2008 regular-season title, but were not eligible for the tournament last year. Melissa Chmielewski ranks among the top 10 in league batting average (.360), slugging percentage (.604), on-base percentage (.411), hits (59), RBI (47), doubles (13), home runs (9) and total bases (99). Elisa Victa leads The Summit League with 60 hits and has a team-best .361 batting average. Andi Padilla holds a 2.21 ERA to lead NDSU in the circle. She also boasts 20 wins, two saves and 104 strikeouts in 186.2 innings pitched.

Centenary has reached the league tournament in every season it has been part of the league. Lindsey Smith leads the Ladies in almost every offensive category with a team-best .324 batting average, 31 runs, 12 homers and 41 RBI. Her 12 roundtrippers are good for second in the league. Freshman right-hander Hillary Phillips holds a team-best 1.91 ERA, with 14 wins, three saves and 147 strikeouts in 176.1 innings of work.

Southern Utah looks to win its second Summit League Championship in three years behind the trio of Darleen Fernandez, Aly Daniels and Kristina Brooks. Fernandez leads the league in slugging percentage (.665), RBI (52), doubles (14), home runs (13) and total bases (105). Daniels boasts a .359 batting average, 35 runs, 39 RBI, a league-best six triples and seven home runs. Brooks leads The Summit League with 273 strikeouts and 21 wins in 260.2 innings pitched.

For more tournament information, visit thesummitleague.org and wiuathletics.com. Live streaming for all games will be available as well as updated results.

Posted By: University Communications (U-Communications@wiu.edu)
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