Lake Forest College Sports Information
May 4, 2008
Contact: Mike Wajerski, SID

Foresters Fall just Short in Bid for Midwest Conference Championship
Team wins three of five games while hosting MWC Tourney 

  

Tracy Rainey
Jill Pfund
Nicole Moser
Gretchen Galasek
Christy Condon
Shelby Neill
Jeanette Andresen
LAKE FOREST, Ill. - The Lake Forest College softball team hosted the 2008 Midwest Conference Championship Tournament over the weekend (May 3-4).The Foresters fell 6-4 to Ripon College in their first game of the double-elimination event before eliminating Monmouth College with an 11-6 victory on Saturday. The host school ended St. Norbert College’s attempt at a second straight league title with a 16-0 rout in five innings to open play on Sunday. Lake Forest then blanked Ripon 4-0 to give the Red Hawks their first loss of the tourney but fell 7-1 in the championship game.

The Foresters took the early lead in Saturday’s game against Ripon on a double by sophomore Tracy Rainey (Roselle, Ill./Lake Park) and an RBI-single by classmate Jill Pfund (Morenci, Mich./Morenci).

After Ripon pulled ahead with two runs in the top of the third, Lake Forest tied the score in the bottom of the frame. Rainey and senior Christy Condon (Brookfield, Wis./Brookfield East) singled to start the inning and Pfund later hit a sacrifice fly to drive in Rainey for the second time in the game.

The Red Hawks regained the lead in the sixth and added three more runs in the seventh. A single and two walks loaded the bases for the Foresters in the bottom of the seventh. Sophomore Mallory Norton (Chicago, Ill./Resurrection) singled in one run and Pfund drove in another – her third of the game – on a fielder’s choice groundout, but the home team was unable to tie the score.

Lake Forest scored six times in the bottom of the first inning against Monmouth. A walk and singles by freshman Nicole Moser (Oak Lawn, Ill./Oak Lawn Community) and Rainey loaded the bases with no outs. Condon and Norton each walked to drive in a run and Pfund singled in two more. After a wild pitch, sophomore Shelby Neill (Manitou Beach, Mich./Lenawee Christian) plated Norton on a sacrifice fly and freshman Sarah Brusig’s (Rifle, Colo./Rifle) base hit drove in Pfund.

The Foresters scored three more runs in the third. Neill started the rally with a base hit and freshman Michelle Ciric (Des Plaines, Ill./Elk Grove) who pinch-ran and later walked in the first inning, doubled to deep left center. Moser singled in Neill and advanced to second on the play and Rainey’s base hit brought home both Ciric and Moser.

Monmouth made things interesting with four runs in the fourth inning and pulled to within four with one more in the fifth. Back-to-back doubles by Moser and Rainey and an RBI-groundout by Norton in the bottom of the fifth put the game out of reach.

The Fighting Scots scored one more run in the sixth inning off freshman Gretchen Galasek (Oak Park, Ill./Oak Park and River Forest), who pitched six innings to earn the victory.

Lake Forest jumped out to the early lead again Sunday morning against St. Norbert with five runs in the opening frame. Senior Erin Ruberg (Cincinnati, Ohio/McNicholas) led off with a single and Moser and Rainey followed with base hits of their own to load the bases. Freshman pinch-runner Kaylee Gendrich (Waukesha, Wis./Waukesha North) scored the first run when the Green Knight catcher was unable to hold onto the throw from the shortstop on a ground ball by Condon and the second came in when the throw from the third baseman on a Norton grounder was late. Pfund singled in two more runs and Brusig drove in the fifth on a sacrifice fly.

A three-run home run by Condon in the second inning gave the Foresters an 8-0 lead. It was her 11th round-tripper of the season, tying the school record she set last year, and the 34th homer of her career.

Neill led off an eight-run third with a walk and junior Hannah Michal (Lake Villa, Ill./Grayslake) singled with two outs. Moser singled in a run and Rainey drove in two on a double. Norton doubled in another run and Pfund had an RBI-single. Neill finished off the rally with a three-run home run.

Sophomore Jeanette Andresen (Woodridge, Ill./Downers Grove South) gave up just one base-runner on a fourth-inning single in her first shutout of the season. She finished the year 8-3 with a 3.44 ERA.

Galasek then blanked Ripon on five base hits for the first shutout of her career. She struck out three batters and walked one in the contest. The defense did not commit an error for the second straight game and its performance was highlighted by a fifth-inning catch in deep right center field and throw to first before the runner could return by sophomore Sam Pinsonneault (Manchester, N.H./New Hampton).

The game was scoreless until Neill belted her seventh homer of the year with two outs in the top of the fifth inning. The Foresters then added three insurance runs in the sixth. Singles by Moser and Condon sandwiched around a Rainey walk loaded the bases. Norton drove in a run on an error by the shortstop and Pfund and Neill each recorded an RBI on fielder’s choice.

Ripon was the team that got off to a fast start in the final game of the tournament, scoring a pair of unearned runs in the bottom of the first inning.

Lake Forest nearly tied the score in the top of the fourth. Moser drew a one-out walk and Rainey singled. Norton’s two-out double over the left fielder’s head scored Moser but Rainey was called out at the plate.

The Red Hawks responded with three runs in the bottom of the inning and added two more in the fifth.

All seven of Ripon’s runs off Galasek, who pitched the first five innings of the contest, were unearned and occurred with two outs. Galasek finished the season with a 6-5 record and 3.74 ERA. Senior Kendra Grant (Bothell, Wash./Bothell) pitched a perfect sixth inning and finished the year 7-6 with a 3.08 ERA.

Rainey was 11-for-15 with four doubles and eight runs scored in the tournament and finished the year with a team-high .383 average. Moser was 7-for-15 on the weekend and also scored eight runs. Pfund drove in nine runs and Norton seven. The pitchers combined for a 1.75 earned run average in 32 innings.

The Foresters finished the season with a 21-14 record and will lose Condon, Grant, Ruberg, and fellow senior Rachael Pasdo (Hoffman Estates, Ill./William Fremd) to graduation next Saturday.

Saturday's Box Scores:
Lake Forest - Ripon

Lake Forest - Monmouth

Sunday's Box Scores:
Lake Forest - St. Norbert
Lake Forest - Ripon (1)
Lake Forest - Ripon (2)