March 22, 2006

Box Score

MURFREESBORO, Tenn. - (Wednesday, March 22, 2006) Not even Mother Nature couldn't cool down the hot Redhawks softball team as they swept a non-conference double-header against Middle Tennessee State at Riverdale High School in Murfreesboro, Tennessee on Wednesday afternoon. The two wins extended the Redhawks season-high winning streak to eight games.

The Redhawks (12-7, 3-0 OVC) outscored the Blue Raiders (7-19-1) 23-3 in the twinbill while collecting 26 hits and holding them to 12 hits.

In game one Elaine Fisher (St. Peters, MO/Francis Howell North) recorded her third complete game shutout of the season as she limited the Blue Raiders to four hits enroute to her fourth win of the season.

Fisher received plenty of offensive help as the Redhawks touched Blue Raiders starter Ashley Katinas (1-3) for 11 runs on 13 hits. Five of those hits went for extra bases including four homeruns.

Eight of those run came in the top of the sixth to force the mercy rule. That inning was highlighted by a pair of three-run homeruns by Stephanie Mata (Wheeling, IL/Wheeling HS) and Stephanie Huffman (Valmayer, IL/Forest Park CC). Megan McDonald (Cape Girardeau, MO/Cape Central) added an RBI single and Lauren Bradley (Overland park, KS/Shawnee Mission South) drove in another run on her single to account for the eight runs.

The Redhawks struck first in the opening inning when McDonald collected the first of her three hits driving in Michelle Summers (Glendale, CA/Hoover) for the quick 1-0 lead.

In the fourth the Redhawks scored two more runs on back-to-back homers by Jennifer Monaghan (West Palm Beach, FL/American Heritage) and Bradley.

Bradley finished 2-4 with two RBIs and two runs scored. Her homerun was her second of the season.

Huffman continued her hot hitting as she went 2-4 with her three-run homerun. Over her last six games Huffman has driven in 15 while hitting three homeruns. She extended her career-high hitting streak to eight games.

McDonald finished 3-4 with two RBIs and a run scored. Lindsay Pickering (St. Charles, MO/St. Charles West HS) recorded her second-straight perfect day at the plate going 3-3 with a run scored.

Monaghan's homerun was her team-high fifth of the season.

Mata's homerun was her fourth of the season.

In the nightcap the Redhawks picked-up where they left off in the first game as they scored four runs in the opening inning. Charlene Ramirez (Walnut, CA/Mt. San Antonio CC) led-off with a single and came around to score on a error. Bradley drove in two with a double and later scored on another Blue Raiders miscue. In that inning the Redhawks capitalized on three errors.

In the second the Redhawks added two more runs as McDonald drove in Summers with an RBI single. Monaghan later added an RBI with a sacrifice fly to plate Ramirez making the score 6-1.

The Blue Raiders scored two runs in the third to make it 6-3 but the Redhawks got those runs back with two runs in the fourth. Monaghan picked up her second RBI of the game with a single to score Summers. Bradley followed with an RBI single of her own to score Monaghan.

The Redhawks put the Blue Raiders away in the final inning of the day when Summers hit her second career grand slam to make the final 12-3.

Summers finished 2-4 with three runs scored and four RBIs. Her grand slam was her fifth homerun of the season tying her with Monaghan for the team lead.

Bradley went 2-4 with three RBIs.

Huffman (7-2) picked up the win, her sixth-straight victory of the season.

The Redhawks will travel to Graceland to face Memphis on Thursday for a daytime doubleheader to conclude their road trip.