Cougars Softball upends rival Parkland College
Alex Staab – ICC Harbinger
East Peoria, IL – It was a nice fall afternoon for some softball at the CougarPlex Sunday, as the Illinois Central College Cougars took on the Parkland Cobras in the final game of a 3-game round robin.
The Cougars took an early lead in the first inning when freshman Lexi Trammell single on a 1-1 count, scoring sophomore Madi McCoy. Parkland was unable to answer, bringing five girls to the plate, but scoring none.
The second inning was quiet as both the Cougars and the Cobras brought a combined 7 batters up, neither scoring any runs.
A small amount of action came from the Cougars lineup in the third when Trammell was hit by a pitch, putting two runners on base for sophomore Kayla Ford, who ended up striking out and keeping the score at 1-1.
In the fourth inning, a walk by freshman Lou McWhirter was followed by a single from sophomore Abbey Stoller to put two on in two straight innings for the Cougars. This time, the batter was McCoy. Unfortunately, like Ford, McCoy struck out to end the inning, stranding two runners, and leaving the tie where it was.
Parkland evened things up at one in the top of the fifth inning when they scored one run on an RBI single from Maddy Shoemaker.
The bottom half of the fifth inning was fairly inactive, but the Cougars’ bats weren’t done yet.
The big play came in the sixth inning when McCoy doubled on a fly ball to center field, scoring freshman Alexis West and sophomore Allison Pillman. Stoller also scored for the Cougars on a throwing error, setting the final score of 4-1 Cougars.
Paige Lane, a sophomore from Princeville, started the game for ICC. She threw four and two-thirds innings, giving up one run, seven hits, striking out four, and walking one.
The Player of the Game was Madi McCoy. She finished the game with three RBIs, going 2-4 at the plate.
After the game, Cougars Head Coach Heather Doty talked about the freshman getting their feet wet in their first collegiate games.
“They got the jitters out today, so that’s good. They were a little nervous.”
Madi McCoy also shared how it helped that their first two fall games were teams they’ll see frequently in the spring.
“I think it’s good for us to start so quick, especially with two teams in our region.”
The next game for the Cougars is a big one. They’ll take on NCAA Division I team and reigning Missouri Valley Conference regular season champions Illinois State Wednesday in Normal. However, according to McCoy, none of the accolades that the Redbirds racked up last year phases them.
“We just have to play our game. We have no nerves going in, no jitters. It’s just another softball game.”
Coach Doty referenced what happened when the Cougars played in Normal a few years ago.
“We’ve got to make sure we’re doing the little things right. We played well, but one inning was absolutely horrible.”
The game between Illinois State and ICC is scheduled for this Wednesday, September 13th, at 5:00 pm, from Marian Kneer Stadium in Normal. We’ll have full updates and coverage from that one.
Team Twitter: @cougs_4_life | Harbinger Sports Twitter: @ICCSportsLive