Blackbirds Fall Short Versus Illinois, Drop 11-8 Decision

(Illinois boxscore)

3/18/06 --The Long Island University softball team dropped its first game in the Capital Classic, falling to Illinois, 11-8 in Sacramento, Calif.

In the fourth inning and trailing 2-0, sophomore Alyssa Winslow (San Jacinto, Calif.) was hit by a pitch and advanced to second on a wild pitch by Illinois’ Claire DeVreese. Junior Randi Gillespie (San Jose, Calif.) singled up the middle as Winslow made it to third.

Classmate Holly Erwin (Riverside, Calif.) was walked, loading the bases. A RBI single to centerfield by Krystal Mejia (Sylmar, Calif.) brought Winslow home for the score.

Senior Leah Glenn (Huntington Beach, Calif.) reached first based behind an error by third baseman Shanna Diller as Brittany Murphy ( Los Alamitos, Calif) advanced to second and Gillespie scored the second run for LIU.

DeVreese walked senior Alissa Villanueva (Pacoima, Calif.), advancing Glenn to second and Murphy to third, allowing Mejia to score, pushing the Blackbirds up 3-2.

Illinois had five runs on six hits in the sixth to push to 8-3. LIU rallied behind a Mejia single to left field. The Blackbirds scored five runs on four hits, leaving one player on base and tying the game at 8-8.

The Fighting Illini battled back, scoring three runs in the seventh behind three LIU miscues.

The Blackbirds take on sixth-ranked Cal on Sunday, March 19 at 11:oo am PST.