The Valley Softball Tournament

[flyingMoose]

Friday Results

Missouri State 0-2(10) Southern Illinois

Natalie Rose only gives up five hits, but two of them are a single and homer in the tenth. Danielle Glosson gives up only one hit and fans eighteen!


Creighton 2-1 Illinois State

Tara Oltman scatters five hits and Lauren Larson has a two-run single in the first to ease the Jays by the #2 seed Redbirds.


Missouri State 6-1 Illinois State

The Bears use two home runs and a six-hit performance by Natalie Rose to eliminate Illinois State.


Creighton 2-1 Southern Illinois

A two-run homer by Amy Baker is the difference as Creighton advances to the championship game.


Missouri State and Southern Illinois meet in the morning at 11am with the winner to play Creighton at 230pm for the tournament championship and the automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament. The game will be on Fox Midwest.

[1972Shocker]

More proof, as if any was needed, that the three biggest keys to a successful fastpitch softball team is pitching, pitching and pitching.

[flyingMoose]

Saturday Results

Missouri State 3-4 Southern Illinois

Danielle Glosson comes on in relief in the top of the first for the Salukis, eventually righting the ship as Missouri State plates two runs in the first. Natalie Rose finally runs out of gas for the Bears, allowing three home runs in the first two innings as Southern Illinois scores twice in each inning.

Southern Illinois advances to the championship against Creighton at 230pm on Fox Midwest.

[shoxsoftball]

Granted pitching is a big part of success of a team, I think hitting is a bigger factor in success. 11 of the Lady Shocks losses were shutouts an another 8 they only scored 1 run. It's extremely hard to win games at this level while scoring 1 run. That's 19 games out of what 31?

[1972Shocker]

Lauren Supak did a nice job in relief for MSU. Good tournament for the Bears.

Overall a very competitive tournament with 6 of the 9 games played so far being 1-run games. The other 3 games were 2-0, 3-0 and 6-1 (and the 6-1 game was 3-1 going into the 7th).

[flyingMoose]

Championship Game

Creighton 3-2 Southern Illinois

Renae Sinkler is the MVC Player of the Year for a reason. Her two-run homer in the fifth inning is the difference as Creighton wins the MVC Tournament and receives the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament. Tara Oltman gives up four hits and two unearned runs for the Jays.[/b]

[1972Shocker]

7 out of the 10 games were 1-run games. As I said before, a very competitive tournament.

I guess we know now why Pooch chose to IW Sinkler in the bottom of the 8th yesterday.

[flyingMoose]

I guess we know now why Pooch chose to IW Sinkler in the bottom of the 8th yesterday.

Today's commentators noted that Sinkler received an "intentional" unintentional walk the first time Creighton and Southern Illinois met in the tournament, and Amy Baker followed with a two-run homer for a Creighton 2-1 win.

[1972Shocker]

A pretty solid one-two punch in the middle of the lineup for Creighton and you don't have to give Oltman a whole lot of help.

[1972Shocker]

Granted pitching is a big part of success of a team, I think hitting is a bigger factor in success. 11 of the Lady Shocks losses were shutouts an another 8 they only scored 1 run. It's extremely hard to win games at this level while scoring 1 run. That's 19 games out of what 31?

No doubt the Shocks could use more punch in their lineup. Heather Gerritse has some potentail for that, but we need a couple of other dependable hitters in the middle of the lineup with a little pop.

Pitching wise I think Kasha made a lot of progress this year although she still tends to give up quite few big flies. Overall though she had a pretty solid year and should continue to improve over the next two years. Other than Kasha, thought the pitching cupboard is pretty bare. Whether or not Sloan Anderson will fill our need in the pitching department I don't know. A couple of our resident softball gurus have expressed some doubt about that.

[1B29]

Next Year!

We better think what we will be without Kasha?

[flyingMoose]

Creighton goes to the Columbia Regional to meet #9 national seed Missouri in the first round. The two other teams at the regional are DePaul and Illinois.

Illinois State goes to the Ann Arbor Regional to meet Notre Dame in the first round. Michigan, the #2 seed in the tournament, is the host and meets Wright State.

As of last Tuesday, Illinois State has an RPI of 37 versus an RPI of 48 for Southern Illinois. The RPI clearly had more influence with the Selection Committee than the Salukis finishing first in the regular season and finishing second in the Valley Tournament versus the Redbirds being 0-2 in the tournament and second in the regular season. Creighton's RPI is 83.

http://www.ncaa.com/sports/w-softbl/spec-rel/051610aab.html

[flyingMoose]

On the opening weekend of the NCAA Softball Tournament, both Creighton and Illinois State are 0-2 in their respective regionals.

In the Columbia Regional,

Creighton 2-3 Missouri

Creighton take an early 2-0 lead, but Missouri scores one in the bottom of the sixth and two in the seventh to win.

Creighton 2-3(9) DePaul

Again Creighton take a lead into the bottom of the seventh, but give up the tying run and then the winning run in the ninth.


In the Ann Arbor Regional,

Illinois State 0-1(8 ) Notre Dame

Illinois State 8-10 Wright State

The Redbirds lead 6-1 after two and one-half innings, but allow three in the fifth and the sixth to lose.