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Monica Perry struck out 12 batters and allowed only one hit.
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April 17, 2010
UNIVERSITY PARK, PA.- The Fighting Illini secured the first win in this weekend's series against Penn State. The Illini shut out the Nittany Lions 4-0 at Nittany Lion Field. The Illini rattled off six hits, with second baseman Danielle Zymkowitz, first baseman Meredith Hackett, and catcher Audrey Gallien each hitting a double. Sophomore Monica Perry secured the win, striking out 12 batters and only allowing one hit in the bottom of the seventh, boosting her record to 16-4.
"Monica Perry and Audrey Gallien worked very well together today and Monica had a fantastic outing. She kept them off balance and went right at them," Coach Donna DiBiase said. "It's always a good battle when we play Penn State, but Monica shut down their bats; she was impressive today. Offensively we jumped out there with a couple runs early and we had very solid defense behind Monica today, but we need to always have quality outs, which is something we want to continue for tomorrow."
Both teams went scoreless in the first inning, but first baseman Meredith Hackett started off the second inning with a bang. Hackett doubled to center field and was brought home by Kelley Wedel who reached on a fielding error. The Illini upped the score to 2-0 after a single by shortstop Danielle Vaji that brought in Wedel and catcher Audrey Gallien making the score 3-0 for the Illini.
Illinois earned their fourth and final run in the third inning when Gallien doubled to left center, bringing in right fielder Hollie Pinchback. Gallien was 1-for-2 with one RBI.
Danielle Zymkowitz earned her double in the fourth inning, going 3-for-4 at the plate. She stole two bases, one in the second and one in the sixth inning, improving her record to 28 stolen bases this season.
The No. 18 Illini will face the Nittany Lions again tomorrow at 12 p.m. at Nittany Lion Field in University Park, Pa.
