Lake Forest College Sports Information
May 20, 2002 Contact: Mike Wajerski, SID Historic Season Ends With Runner-Up Finish at National
Tournament
In the title game, the Foresters out-hit the Bombers, 5-3, but left seven runners on base while Ithaca stranded just three. A "seeing-eye single" in the bottom of the second inning scored the game's only run. Lake Forest pitcher Leigh Anne Furgerson (Carmel, IN/Westfield) allowed just four Ithaca batters to reach base. The sophomore finished the season with a 13-5 record and a 1.27 earned run average. She was 1-1 with a 1.47 ERA at the national tourney and was named to the all-tournament team. Joining Furgerson on the all-tournament team was fellow sophomore pitcher Nancy Findeisen (Beecher, IL/ Beecher). The Third Team All-American had a 4-1 record at the tourney with a 0.97 ERA, giving her a 19-6 mark for the season and a school record ERA of 0.75. Her 19 wins are one more than the entire team has had in any previous year. In arguably the best season ever for a Lake Forest pitcher, Findeisen also set school records for strikeouts (156), shutouts (10) and winning percentage (.760). Shortstop Tina Koludrovic (Darien, IL/Downers Grove South), the team's leading hitter for the season (.395), was also selected to the all-tournament team. In 21 at-bats, the freshman had 10 hits (.476), four more than any other player at the tourney. Koludrovic set a school record this season with 51 base hits. Third baseman Robyn Slater (Granite City, IL/Granite City) was the Foresters' fourth all-tournament selection. Slater's ninth-inning walk-off home run Saturday night eliminated top seed Pacific Lutheran University from the tournament. She led all tourney players with three doubles and was third with six runs batted in. For the season, Slater hit six home runs and set a school record with 30 RBI. The Foresters set a number of other single season school records. Freshman second baseman Alissa Mildebrath (Carol Stream, IL/West Chicago) hit eight home runs, twice the previous high, and accumulated 83 total bases. Mildebrath's 10 doubles would also have been a new school record had senior catcher Jenn Reifenberg (Skokie, IL/Niles West) not hit 12. Junior Megan Gibson (Brown Deer, WI/Brown Deer) helped set up many of the team's scoring opportunities with 16 sacrifice bunts. Lake Forest finished the year with a 34-12 record, its first Midwest Conference Championship since 1988, and a second-place finish at the NCAA Division III National Tournament. With 34 victories, the 2002 Foresters nearly doubled the program's previous high (18). The team's 1.03 earned run average is not only a school record, but also ranks among the top 10 in the nation this season. Championship
Game Box Score
|