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Feb. 21, 2009

Prairie View A&M Box Score | Northern Illinois Box Score

HOUSTON - A trio of Illinois' pitchers dominated on Saturday at the Marriott Houston Invitational, earning a 9-1 win over the Prairie View A&M Panthers and finishing the day with a 3-1 win over the Northern Illinois Huskies. Ashley Wright, Taylor Call and Monica Perry combined to allow just one earned run on one hit through 13 innings, fanning 16 batters as Illinois improved to 9-4 on the season.

"Our pitcher really hit their spots, moved around the zone well and had confident presence in the circle," head coach Terri Sullivan said. "I'm so proud of Ashley, Taylor and Monica. They put together one of the best pitching days we've had in some time at Illinois."

Second baseman Danielle Zymkowitz also extended her hitting streak to 13 games, having at least one base-knock in every contest this season. Her streak is the second longest in school history behind catcher Lana Armstrong's 18 in 2007.

Illini pitcher Taylor Call (1-0) picked up the game-one victory after combining with starter Ashley Wright for the team's first no-hitter since 2003. Wright tossed three innings and gave up no earned runs while striking out three, while Call pitched the final three innings and fanned four. Neither pitcher issued a walk in the contest.

Zymkowitz led off the game with a single up the middle and when the ball got past the centerfielder, she cruised home for the quick 1-0 lead. After leftfielder Hollie Pinchback took a walk, Armstrong belted her second home run in as many games to make it 3-0.

The Illini added four more runs in the second inning to go up 7-0. Rightfielder Hope Howell and Armstrong each knocked two-RBI singles in the inning. Illinois tacked on another run in the third after designated player Katrina Ross singled and pinch runner Katie Lutes eventually scored on shortstop Ashley Conrad's grounder to second.

The Panthers took advantage of a pair of Illini miscues in the bottom of the third to get on the board, but Illinois made up for the run in the sixth. Howell smacked a double to the gap in left-center then Armstrong drove her home with a single through the left side, capping the 9-1 run-rule win. Armstrong finished the game 3-for-4 with five RBIs.

Illinois' pitching was nearly as perfect in the second game as pitcher Monica Perry (5-3) allowed just one run on one hit through seven innings. Perry fanned nine Huskies and walked just one.

"It was good to win a game like this after the marathon of offense last night because it shows you can win in different ways and that develops a lot of confidence in the team," Sullivan said. "Teams that can play under pressure go a long way into their season and that's what we're looking to do. This weekend we've really been tested in that regard and so far we've lived up to the test."

After the two teams played through three scoreless innings, Northern Illinois broke up the stalemate with a run in the top of the fourth to take the lead. Illinois responded with a three-spot in the bottom half of the inning thanks to a trio of hits. Howell singled to leadoff the inning and Pinchback followed with a double to left-center to put runners at first and second. The Huskies picked up two outs before walking Ross to load the bases, then first baseman Meredith Hackett cleared them as she drove a double off the wall for three RBIs.

Perry retired the final nine batters in a row to seal Illinois' fourth straight victory.

The Illini conclude the Marriott Houston Invitational on Sunday against the No. 19/24 Texas A&M. The two teams square off at 11 a.m.