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March 3, 2007 Softball FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE INDIANA STATE WINS A PAIR TO ADVANCE TO CHAMPIONSHIP BRACKET AT BUZZ CLASSIC ATLANTA – The Sycamores, after splitting on Day 1, went into Saturday’s play at the Buzz Classic looking to continue their winning ways going into Tournament play on Sunday (March 4) and they did just that with victories over Lipscomb and New Mexico. By picking up the two victories the Sycamore’s moved to a record of (3-1) in pool play and captured the “Pool 1” top seed which means they will play in the championship “Gold” bracket on Sunday at the Buzz Classic. As the top seed from Pool 1 and #4 overall the Sycamore’s are set to play Boston University (#5 overall) at 9:00 a.m. followed by a game against Radford (#1 overall) at 11:00 a.m. if they are victorious against Boston U. If the Sycamore’s get past both Boston U and Radford they will play the winner of Wisconsin (#3 overall)/Winthrop (#2 overall) for the Buzz Classic title at 1:00 p.m. local time.
Game 1 Indiana State vs. Lipscomb Coming off a loss to Centenary on Day 1 of the Buzz Classic, Freshman Megan McCurdy and the Sycamore’s looked to get back on the right track with their first game of the day against Lipscomb. McCurdy, coming off her first loss of the season, showed no ill effects as she went 5.2 innings scattering 3 hits with 5 strikeouts without giving up a run in the victory. Freshman Christen Campbell went to the mound for Lipscomb as she went all 7 innings giving up 5 runs on 6 hits while striking out 9 Sycamore’s. The Sycamore’s got on the board early and often in this game as five batters had at least 2 hits and three batters tallied at least 1 RBI. Much of the damage was done in the 1st inning as four Sycamore’s had hits and Junior Kelsey Anderson and Sophomore Katie Armour each had an RBI. For the game Armour had 3 RBI’s while going (2 for 3) at the plate along with a run scored and team mate Senior Julie Damico went (2 for 4) at the plate while scoring 2 runs. The combination of McCurdy and Junior Darcy Wood pitched a shutout while only giving up 4 hits for the game. Junior Designated Hitter Nikki Bails accounted for two of the Lipscomb hits as she went (2 for 3) for the game.
Indiana State 6 (9-4, 0-0 MVC) Lipscomb 0 (9-8, 0-0 Atlantic Sun)
Game 2 Indiana State vs. New Mexico With a victory in Game 2 on Day 2 of the Buzz Classic the Sycamore’s would move into a tie with Centenary and Georgia Tech for the Pool 1 lead, which would be decided by the tiebreaker of fewest runs allowed. Indiana State would send Junior Darcy Wood to the mound to pitch against Senior Caley Peterson of New Mexico. This game would end up going only 5.0 innings as the 8 run rule was put into effect which states that if the game is not within 8 runs by the 5th inning then it is called in favor of whoever is ahead. Wood pitched all 5.0 innings giving up only 1 run on 2 hits while accumulating 4 strikeouts. Peterson would only last 1.1 innings after she gave up 8 runs on 5 hits through her 1.1 innings of work. The 2nd inning busted it open for the Sycamore’s as 6 runners would be brought home on 4 hits as Indiana State jumped out to the early (8-0) lead. This game proved to be the breakout game for Junior Katie Iocoangeli as she belted her first homerun of the season, and first as a Sycamore, while going (2 for 2) at the plate for the game scoring 2 runs and accounting for 3 RBI’s. Another key player was Senior Natalie Kopp who went (2 for 3) at the plate while driving in 2 runs and scoring a run of her own. With the victory Wood, a pre-season MVC honoree, now has a personal record of (6-3) on the season with a 1.46 ERA and 67 strikeouts. The Sycamore’s as a team now have a record of (10-4) and clinched the Pool 1 lead as they now move onto Sunday’s championship play. Indiana State 10 (10-4, 0-0 MVC) New Mexico 1 (2-7, 0-0 Mountain West)
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