Lake Forest College Softball
News & Notes
March 9, 2000 
Contact:  Scott Rucker, SID

FORESTERS POST SCHOOL'S BEST-EVER SPRING BREAK TRIP RECORD

Lake Forest College scored eight or more runs four times and pitched two shutouts on their way to winning five of their eight games during their annual spring break trip. It was Lake Forest's best-ever spring break trip in terms of winning percentage. The school began taking the training trips in 1988. The team's 5-3 start also equaled the school's best start since the 1996 season, which also started with a 5-3 mark.

The Foresters began their trip to Orlando, FL with three straight wins, twice scoring 11 runs. 

Lake Forest jumped on Wilmington College 11-5 in their season opener. Sophomore Jenn Reifenberg (Skokie, IL/Niles West H.S.) had two doubles and two runs batted in, while sophomore Megan Smith (Alsip, IL/Queen of Peace H.S.) added two RBIs. Eight Foresters collected a total of 10 hits and senior Cari Poznansky (Morton Grove, IL/Maine East H.S.) got the complete game win.

Sophomore Chris Laurine (Richmond, IL/Richmond Burton H.S.) scattered seven hits over seven innings to get the 2-0 shutout against Ithaca College, a 1999 NCAA Division III World Series qualifier, in the team's second contest. Laurine also added an RBI.

LF held off a late Muhlenberg College charge to garner an 11-10 eight-inning victory for their third straight win. Freshman Shannon Joselane (Glendale Heights, IL/Glenbard East H.S.) tallied three RBIs and senior Jessie Griffin (Chicago Heights, IL/Marian Catholic H.S.) scored three times.

Bluffton College handed the Foresters their first loss, 4-1, but the LF bounced back to pummel Haverford College, 9-0. Freshman Robyn Slater (Granite City, IL/Granite City H.S.) went two for two at the plate with four RBIs and fellow freshman Megan Gibson (Brown Deer, WI/Brown Deer H.S.) recorded the shutout.

Montclair State University and Baldwin-Wallace College straddled back-to-back shutout losses on the Foresters, 4-0 and 8-0, respectively, before Lake Forest closed out their trip with an 8-3 win over University of Dubuque. Five Foresters - Kim Sponsel (San Diego, CA/Mira Mesa H.S.), Poznansky, Kim Magee (Lake Oswego, OR/Lake Oswego H.S.), Karla Gribble (Mineral Point, WI/Mineral Point H.S.), and Slater -- had at least two hits in the win.

Three players finished the trip with a .400-plus batting average. Sponsel hit .429, Griffin .455, and Slater .471. Slater led the team with seven RBIs, Sponsel was tops with four walks, and Griffin scored seven runs, the second most on the squad. Magee hit .348 and led the team with 10 runs scored, 9 stolen bases, and 13 total bases. 

The Foresters also got solid pitching for the majority of the trip. Three different players recorded wins, with Gibson and Poznansky each winning twice. Gibson did not allow an earned run and Poznansky had a 2.80 earned run average.