Cougars Softball drops scrimmage to Illinois State

Alex Staab – ICC Harbinger

Normal, IL – It was a perfect evening for fall softball in Normal, Illinois Wednesday night as the Illinois Central College Cougars softball team took on reigning Missouri Valley champs Illinois State.

Things were fairly quiet through the first couple of innings, as ICC starter Paige Lane held the Redbirds’ lineup scoreless almost through two innings. That second inning was when Illinois State was able to push a couple runs across on a throw on a stolen base and a fielder’s choice. That was just the start for the Redbird offense.

The Cougars were able to score a few runs against one of the best softball teams in the Missouri Valley Conference. A 2-RBI single for Lexi Trammell in the third inning tied things up, 2-2.

If runs weren’t exactly at a premium tonight for ICC, good defensive plays were. A nice catch in center field by Shelby Terrell and catcher McKinsey Walters almost getting a runner caught off third base highlighted the defensive effort in the third frame.

The bottom half of the third was when the Redbirds began to show their power, literally. A grand slam put them up 8-2 over the Cougars. It was just the next inning when Illinois State was able to score again, this time three walks and a sacrifice fly brought in four Redbird runs to make it a 12-2 lead over ICC.

The Cougars had what would likely be their best offensive inning in the fifth, when Katie David got a double, followed by a 2-run home run by Madi McCoy to cut the Illinois State lead to 8. That was just about all the Cougar offense Wednesday night, but they weren’t done just yet.

One frame later, in the sixth, an RBI groundout scored Lou McWhirter to give ICC their final run of the night. The score at that point was 12-5.

Although the scoring may have been done, there was one last highlight on the defense for ICC. Sophomore Kayla Ford made a catch on a liner, crashing into the left field fence at the Redbirds’ Marian Kneer Stadium. She was able to shake it off and move on to the next batter.

By the unofficial count, Illinois State scored almost a dozen runs in the next four innings, setting up the final score. In the end, it was a high-quality Division-I test for the Cougars, and Coach Heather Doty thinks it will help immensely for when they play a four-year school in Palos Heights, Illinois this Saturday.

Coach Doty also said afterwards that there were certainly things to correct, but did praise a few things the Cougars did against Illinois State.

“We got a lot out as far as pitcher intensity. It’s lack of focus and the longevity of that. I was happy for the most part.”

Illinois State Head Coach Melinda Fischer had multiple good things to say about her team’s performance, but also emphasized that this was her program’s first fall game. However, she said the freshmen, for their first time in an Illinois State uniform, performed well.

“I thought they all stepped up and did a great job. Ashley Emert (East Peoria HS alum) had a good game for us playing short and center field. Morgan Day (catcher) did a nice job. Andrea Coursey played well. That’s what we want them to do.”

This was a situational scrimmage, thus no mercy rule, and no official score was kept. It was also set to be 10-innings in length.

As mentioned, the Cougars’ next game is Saturday, September 16th, in Palos Heights, Illinois. First pitch is at 1:00 pm against St. Xavier University. The next Harbinger-covered Softball game will be at home, September 22nd, against the Division-I Bradley Braves.

Team Twitter: @cougs_4_life | Harbinger Sports Twitter: @ICCSportsLive