Lake Forest College Sports Information
April 20, 2002
Contact: Mike Wajerski, SID

Lake Forest Earns Split at Monmouth, Stays Atop MWC South
Furgerson wins sixth straight decision
  

 Leigh Anne Furgerson is 6-0 with a 0.62 earned run average in her last six appearances.
MONMOUTH, IL - The Forester softball team salvaged a split in an important Midwest Conference South Division doubleheader at Monmouth College on Saturday (April 20th). After falling in the first game, 4-2, Lake Forest came back to take the second, 2-1. The Foresters and the Fighting Scots were the MWC coaches' preseason picks to battle for the division crown and the right to host the 2002 MWC Championship Tournament. With the split, Lake Forest took its overall record to 16-9 and its league mark to 7-2. Monmouth is now 14-12 overall and 6-3 in the conference. Knox College, who the Foresters will host on Sunday (April 28th), is 16-7 and has a 5-2 record in MWC play.

In game one, Forester freshman second baseman Alissa Mildebrath (Carol Stream, IL/West Chicago) opened the scoring with a first-inning home run, her third of the season. An inning later, senior left fielder Kristin Brand (McHenry, IL/McHenry West) knocked in the team's second run with one of her two hits in the game.

Unfortunately for Lake Forest, the 2-0 lead would only last until Monmouth's half of the fourth inning, when a two-out single followed by a home run tied the score. The home team plated two more runs in the fifth on three base hits to finish off the scoring.

The Foresters scored first in the second game as well when senior catcher Jenn Reifenberg (Skokie, IL/Niles West) hit her first home run of the season to lead off the bottom of the second inning. Monmouth scored an unearned run in the top of the fourth to tie the score.

It was still 1-1 when Lake Forest came to bat in the bottom of the seventh. Mildebrath, who went 3-for-4 in the game, led off the inning with a base hit. It was actually the fourth time in the contest that she reached base, all to lead off innings. Junior Megan Gibson's (Brown Deer, WI/Brown Deer) third successful sacrifice bunt of the game put Mildebrath in scoring position with one out. Freshman shortstop Tina Koludrovic (Darien, IL/Downers Grove South) followed with her second base hit of the game, scoring Mildebrath and putting the Foresters back on top of the division standings.

With at least one hit in both games, Koludrovic extended her hitting streak to 12 games. Another streak that continued in game two was pitcher Leigh Anne Furgerson's (Carmel, IN/Westfield) string of victories. After starting the season with a 1-3 record, the sophomore has rattled off six consecutive wins and allowed just three earned runs in her last 34 innings pitched. On Saturday she held Monmouth to an unearned run on six hits while striking out four and not issuing a single base on balls.

The Foresters will play at the University of Chicago Monday (April 22nd) afternoon at 3:00 PM. Lake Forest's finish in the MWC will be decided next weekend (April 27-28th) when it hosts Grinnell College on Saturday and Knox College on Sunday.

Game 1 Box Score
Game 2 Box Score