Carthage Softball Eliminated from CCIW Tournament on May 3;

Lady Reds Close Out Season with Judson (Ill.) Split on May 5

This Week: The Carthage College softball team (19-11, 9-5 College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin) closed out its 2008 schedule on Monday, May 5 by splitting a doubleheader with non-conference opponent Judson University (Ill., 24-24) at the Elgin Sports Complex in Elgin, Ill. Carthage won the first game, 9-7 in eighth innings, before falling in the nightcap by an 11-3 margin.

Last Week: Carthage was eliminated from the CCIW Softball Tournament on Saturday, May 3 with a 5-3 semifinal loss to Augustana College (Ill., 26-15) at the Illinois Wesleyan University Softball Field in Bloomington, Ill. The Lady Reds won an elimination game on Friday, May 2 with a 5-0 shutout of conference-champion, top-seeded and No. 23 Illinois Wesleyan (29-9). Earlier in the day, Carthage lost to North Central College, 2-1, in eight innings. Illinois Wesleyan lost to Augustana College (Ill.), 4-2, in the other first-round contest. North Central then defeated Augustana (Ill.), 9-8, in the winner’s bracket game on Friday. North Central then defeated Augustana (Ill.), 9-8, in the winner’s bracket game on Friday. Augustana (Ill.) advanced to the May 3 championship round against North Central, but the Cardinals (29-10) outlasted the Vikings (26-18), 11-10 in eight innings, to win the tournament and the league’s automatic qualifier to the NCAA Division III Softball Championship.

Two Carthage Players Named All-Regional: Two Carthage players were named National Fastpitch Coaches Association All-Great Lakes Regional. First baseman Jacquelyn Tassone (So., Downers Grove, Ill./South, .432, seven doubles, one triple, 10 home runs, 29 RBI, a Carthage-record .914 slugging percentage, five stolen bases) was named first-team all-regional. Pitcher Kelsey Epping (So., Bloomington, Ill./Downs-Tri Valley, 11-5, 1.45 earned run average, 10.01 strikeouts per seven innings, .194 opponent batting average) earned third-team all-regional honors.

Six Lady Reds Named All-CCIW: Six Carthage players were named 2008 All-CCIW. First baseman Jacquelyn Tassone (So., Downers Grove, Ill./South, .432, seven doubles, 10 home runs, 29 RBI) earned first-team All-CCIW honors, while pitcher Kelsey Epping (So., Bloomington, Ill./Downs-Tri Valley, 11-5, 1.45 earned run average, 10.01 strikeouts per seven innings), catcher Jenny Burke (Jr. , Lemont, Ill., .269), second baseman Meghan Roman (So., Crestwood, Ill./Chicago-Marist, .275, 21 RBI, 11-of-11 stolen bases), outfielder Stephanie Noel (So., Homer Glen, Ill./Lockport Township, .348, four triples, 19 RBI) and shortstop Kari Peterson (Fr., Blooming Prairie, Minn., .352) earned second-team all-conference honors. Burke was also a second-team All-CCIW honoree in 2007.

2008 NCAA Championship: North Central College received the CCIW’s automatic qualifier to the NCAA Division III Softball Championship, and the Cardinals were joined by conference-champion Illinois Wesleyan University at the NCAA Division III Softball Great Lakes Region at Carson Park in Eau Claire, Wis. North Central lost to Wisconsin-Eau Claire, 10-0, in a first-round game on May 8, while Illinois Wesleyan lost to Simpson College, 1-0. In second-round action on May 9, Illinois Wesleyan eliminated Ripon College, 3-0, while North Central (29-12) was eliminated by Aurora University by an 8-0 margin. Illinois Wesleyan (30-11) was eliminated by Wisconsin-Oshkosh, 1-0, on Saturday, May 10.

The Polls: DePauw University (36-1, 6 first-place votes) was ranked first in the April 30 National Fastpitch Coaches Association NCAA Division III poll, followed by Louisiana College (36-4, 1 first-place vote) second, the University of St. Thomas (Minn., 33-3, 1 first-place vote) third, Linfield College (35-3) fourth, Montclair State University (37-3) fifth, Lynchburg College (35-4) sixth, the University of Redlands (31-8) seventh, Wartburg College (26-6) eighth, Texas-Tyler (35-5) ninth, Ithaca College (26-8) 10th, Muskingum College (31-7) 11th, Chapman University (27-9) 12th, Ramapo College (32-8) 13th, Wisconsin-Oshkosh (24-8) 14th and Endicott College (35-4) ranked 15th. CCIW-member Illinois Wesleyan University (26-7) was ranked 23rd. Wisconsin-Oshkosh (24-8, 15-3 regional record) was ranked first in the final, regular-season NCAA Division III Great Lakes Regional poll, followed by Wisconsin-Whitewater (28-6, 22-3) second, Illinois Wesleyan (28-7, 20-5) third, CCIW-member North Central College (25-9, 22-7), Wisconsin-Eau Claire (25-9, 19-8) fifth, Aurora University (30-6, 24-3) sixth, CCIW-member Augustana College (Ill., 24-14, 18-12) seventh and St. Norbert (15-14, 11-10) ranked eighth.

2007 NCAA Championship: Augustana College (Ill.) received the CCIW’s automatic qualifier to the NCAA Division III Softball Championship, and the Vikings were joined by conference-champion Illinois Wesleyan University at the NCAA Division III Softball Great Lakes Region at Carson Park in Eau Claire, Wis. In first-round action on May 10, third-seeded Augustana (Ill., 30-13) lost to sixth-seeded Wisconsin-Eau Claire, while second-seeded Illinois Wesleyan defeated seventh-seeded St. Norbert College, 8-6. On May 11, Coe College eliminated Augustana (Ill., 30-14) by a 1-0 margin, while Wisconsin-Eau Claire defeated Illinois Wesleyan (32-13), 3-0. On May 12, Illinois Wesleyan (32-14) was eliminated by Coe, 5-1.

The Coach: Amy Gillmore (Carthage, 1994) completed her 11th year as head coach in 2008 (237-166, 11 years). She was named 1998 CCIW "Softball Coach of the Year." A standout shortstop for Carthage from 1992 to 1994, Gillmore was a three-time All-CCIW selection. She ranks among Carthage career leaders in batting average, hits, runs scored, RBI, doubles, triples, bases on balls, slugging percentage and on-base percentage. She is also the Lady Reds’ all-time stolen base leader with 30 swipes. Gillmore holds season records for stolen bases, runs scored and hit-by-pitch. Liz Pumula, Dave Rivera and Rebecca Slye serve as part-time assistant coaches.

The Conference: Now in its 62nd year, the CCIW began sponsorship of softball as a championship sport in 1987. The CCIW began sponsorship of softball as a championship sport in 1987. Illinois Wesleyan University has won a league-leading nine championships, including the 2008 title. North Central College has won a seven titles, Millikin University three, Augustana College (Ill.) two, and both Carthage College and Elmhurst College have won a single title each. Carthage won the 1998 championship. The CCIW coaches, with four-first-place votes, picked Augustana (Ill.) to win the 2008 title, followed by Illinois Wesleyan second with three first-place votes, North Central third with one first-place vote, Carthage fourth, Elmhurst fifth, Wheaton College (Ill.) sixth, Millikin seventh and North Park University eighth.

CCIW Leaders: Carthage first baseman Jacquelyn Tassone (So., Downers Grove, Ill./South) is second in both CCIW batting (.432 thru May 6) and home runs (10). Shortstop Kari Peterson (Fr., Blooming Prairie, Minn.) is 14th in batting (.352). Centerfielder Stephanie Noel (So., Homer Glen, Ill./Lockport Township) is 15th in batting (.333) and tied for first in triples (4). Pitcher Kelsey Epping (So., Bloomington, Ill./Downs-Tri Valley) is second in earned run average (1.45) and first in strikeouts (152). Pitcher Allie Benthusen (Jr., Elgin, Ill../Larkin) is 11th in earned run average (3.44). As a team, Carthage is fifth in batting average (.294) and third in earned run average (2.31).

CCIW Championship Format: Beginning in 2007, the CCIW’s regular-season champion wins the conference title and has the option of playing host to the CCIW Softball Tournament on either its home field or at another location. The top-four teams, by CCIW winning percentage, qualify for the CCIW Softball Tournament. The winner of the double-elimination tournament will receive the league’s automatic qualifier to the NCAA Division III Softball Championship.

2008 NCAA Regionals: The NCAA Division III Softball Committee has selected all eight sites for the 2008 regional championships. CCIW-member Augustana College (Ill.) will play host to the Central Regional Championship on either May 8-11 or May 8-12 at Carver Field in Rock Island, Ill. Rhode Island College will play host to the New England Regional in Providence, R.I.; Ithaca College to the New York Regional I in Ithaca, N.Y; the State University of New York-Plattsburgh to the New York Regional II in Plattsburgh, N.Y.; Rowan University to the Mid-Atlantic Regional in Glassboro, N.J.; Methodist University to South Regional in Fayetteville, N.C..; Wisconsin-Eau Claire to the Midwest Regional in Eau Claire, Wis.; and Texas-Tyler to the West Regional in Tyler, Texas. The field for the 59-team championship will be announced on Monday, May 5.

May 2 CCIW Tournament Notes: In Carthage’s win over Illinois Wesleyan, the Lady Reds took a 4-0 lead in the first inning. Meghan Roman singled to open the game. Katie Los and Stephanie Noel both reached base on infield errors on bunt attempts, with Roman scoring from second on the second error. Jacquelyn Tassone made Illinois Wesleyan pay for the misplays with a three-run homer, her 10th of the year. Tassone is one home run shy of tying Gina Buchmiller’s 2006 season record of 11 homers. The Lady Reds added a run in the third on an RBI-double by Tassone, who went two-for-three for four RBI. Pitcher Allie Benthusen (8-5) blanked the Titans on five hits and two walks…in the Lady Reds’ loss to North Central, Carthage took a 1-0 lead in the third inning on an RBI-double by Katie Los. North Central tied the game in the fourth on an RBI-double by Laura Whitfield. The Cardinals won the game in the bottom of the eighth on a one-out, solo home run off the bat of Samantha Bloomfield. Kelsey Epping (10-4) took the loss for the Lady Reds. She allowed two runs, one earned, on five hits and a walk, while striking out seven batters. Kelli Loeffel (11-6), in relief of Jenna Prieto, was winning pitcher for the Cardinals.

Quoting Coach Amy Gillmore on the May 2 CCIW Tournament Games: “Kelsey Epping made one mistake in the North Central game, and they took advantage of it. It was nice to knock off top-seeded Illinois Wesleyan. We had unbelievable pitching on the first day. Both Kelsey and Allie Benthusen have been at the top of their game over the past two weeks. We can’t ask for any more.” (courtesy of the Kenosha News)

May 3 CCIW Tournament Notes: Augustana (Ill.) took a 1-0 lead in the third inning on back-to-back doubles by Chrissy Rosin and Karlee Quaritsch. Carthage tied the game in fifth. Jenny Burke led off with a single. Pinch-runner Heather Johnson stole second and scored on a double by Nikki Soreng. The Vikings broke the game open with a four-run sixth inning. After loading the bases with one out, Quaritsch and Sara Brokaw scored on consecutive errors by third baseman Stephanie Hueramo and shortstop Tarah Ellington. Jackie Gill followed with a two-run double to put Augustana up, 5-1. The Lady Reds made things interesting in the seventh. Carthage put its first three batters on base. Hueramo and Meghan Roman both drove in runs with infield grounders to cut the lead to 5-3. Katie Los walked to re-load the bases before Stephanie Noel grounded to short for the final out. Carthage pitcher Kelsey Epping (10-5) started and surrendered the first three runs, just one earned, on three hits and two walks over five innings. Epping struck out eight batters. Allie Benthusen entered the game in the sixth and gave up the last two runs, also unearned. Starting pitcher Jackie Gill (2-0) went the distance for Vikings and allowed three runs, two earned, on seven hits and two walks.

May 5 Judson University (Ill.) Notes: In the first game, Judson took a 4-0 lead in the second inning. Carthage cut the lead to 4-2 in the third on an RBI-double by Meghan Roman and a subsequent outfield error that allowed Roman to score. The Lady Reds tied the game, 4-4, in the fifth on a solo home run by Tarah Ellington and an RBI-double by Stephanie Noel. Carthage took a 5-4 lead in the sixth an another home run by Ellington. The Lady Eagles tied the contest, 5-5, in the seventh, before Carthage scored four times in the eighth to take a 9-5 lead. Ellington hit a sacrifice fly for the go-ahead run. Katie Los and Noel hit back-to-back RBI-doubles, and Jacquelyn Tassone singled home the ninth run. Judson scored twice in the bottom of the eighth to complete the scoring at 9-7. Carthage pitcher Kelsey Epping (11-5) allowed seven runs, five earned, on 14 hits and five walks, while striking out 16 batters. Tassone went three-for-three with an RBI, while Ellington went two-for-three with the two home runs and three RBI. In the nightcap, Judson took a 4-0 lead after two inning. The Lady Eagles tacked on five runs in the fourth to take a commanding, 9-0 lead. Carthage scored all three of its runs in the fifth inning. Los and Noel singled in the first two runs, and Roman scored on an infield error. Pitcher Allie Benthusen (8-6) gave up 11 runs, 10 earned, on 10 hits and three walks.

The Record Book: With 10 home runs, first baseman Jacquelyn Tassone (So., Downers Grove, Ill./South) finished the season just one shy of tying Gina Buchmiller’s 2006 season record of 11 round-trippers…second baseman Meghan Roman (So., Crestwood, Ill./Chicago Marist) set a game record against Elmhurst College on April 26 with four stolen bases. She broke a mark of three set by Denise DuKatz versus Plymouth State University on March 30, 1988 and subsequently matched by DuKatz and three other players.