Softball goes perfect against John A. Logan, wins Saluki Invitational
09/17/2006 | 12:00:00 | Softball
Sept. 17, 2006
By Matt Crouch
www.SIUSalukis.com
CARBONDALE, Ill. - The Southern Illinois University softball team continued its winning ways Sunday by beating John A. Logan College 12-0 in five innings at Charlotte West Stadium.
Sophomore pitcher Katie McNamara took the spotlight in the win as she pitched a perfect game against the Volunteers.
The left-hander from Putnam Valley, N.Y., threw 41 pitches while turning away all 15 batters that she faced. She also picked up three strikeouts in the win.
After the first inning ended in a 0-0 tie, the Saluki offense kicked in to gear. SIU put up three runs in the second inning to take the lead and never looked back.
Sophomore Katie Schmidt scored the first run on a Tiffanie Dismore single, but it was freshman Alicia Garza, who has been an offensive powerhouse through the fall season, that stepped up big by hitting a single down the right-field line to score Dismore and Becky Wegmann.
The Salukis did not let up in the third inning as SIU rattled off five-straight base hits to get the inning going. Grouped with an error and a pair of passed balls, the Salukis put five more runs on the board to take a 8-0 lead after three innings.
Sophomore Jayme Wamsley kept the runs coming in as the fourth inning started. After ducking to miss a pitch that came high and inside, the Hermitage, Tenn., native led off the inning with a solo home run to left-center field, giving SIU a 9-0 lead.
Schmidt followed up with a single and eventually scored on an error to make it 10-0. But, it was Garza who again stepped up at the plate as she hit a single to center field to score Dismore and Katie Wagner and give SIU the 12-0 win.
Garza, who went 2-for-4 with four RBI, was one of four Salukis with multiple hits in the game. Dismore, Wamsley and Schmidt also had two hits apiece.
Brianne Moeller took the loss for John A. Logan. She gave up 12 hits and we runs in four innings. She struck out three batters while walking five.
The Salukis were scheduled to play SIU-Edwardsville at 4 p.m. in the Saluki Invitational championship game, but it was cancelled because of rain showers passing through the area.
SIU wraps up its fall season Sept. 23-24 at the Kirkwood Tournament in Kirkwood, Mo. The Salukis are set to face Southeast Missouri, Truman, Saint Louis, McKendree and Illinois State in the two-day tournament.
