April 13, 2000
Box Score
Chicago, Ill. -The 25th-ranked UIC softball team played a pair of different games in sweeping a doubleheader from Eastern Illinois Thursday evening at Flames Field.
The first game saw the Flames pound out 15 hits en route to a 9-1 victory halted in the fifth inning by the eight-run rule. Game two was a different story, though, as the Flames managed just three hits, but used great defense and a pair of long balls, including Stefanie Christoferson's game-winner, to triumph 2-1 in nine innings.
The one similarity both games had was UIC pitcher Maral Binnebose. The sophomore lefty continued her recent success, picking up the win in both contests. Binnebose pitched five strong innings in the first game, scattering five hits and giving up one earned run. She then relieved Rory Gonzales-Gould in third inning of game two, with the Flames trailing the Panthers 1-0, and went on to pitch 6 2/3 shutout innings to earn the victory. Binnebose, who improved to 9-3 on the season with a team-low 1.02 ERA, has now won six straight decisions.
UIC got to Eastern Illinois starter Sara DeLaere early and often in game one, scoring in all five innings. Emily Hallman started the Flames' offense, tabbing an RBI single in the first. UIC added two more in the second on RBI singles by Edel Leyden and Jennifer Tiffany. They would go on to plate one in the third, two in the fourth and three in the fifth, including a solo home run by Kathy Casey, to pave the way for the 9-1 victory.
Edel Leyden had a strong first game, but paid the price for it. The sophomore third baseman went 3-for-4 with an RBI and two runs scored, but suffered a mild concussion scoring her second run which kept her out of game two of the doubleheader.
Things didn't look good for UIC early on in the night cap as the Panthers scored first, plating a run off Flames' starter Gonzales-Gould on a sacrifice fly by Melissa Slama in the first inning. After getting out of a jam in the second inning, Gonzales-Gould was lifted in the third for game one starter Binnebose.
EIU's Kristen Becker, on the other hand, rolled through the Flames' lineup, allowing just a walk through the first four innings.
Gina Arnold finally broke through for UIC in the fifth as she led off the frame with a solo home run over the centerfield scoreboard.
The score remained tied 1-1 into the seventh when the Panthers threatened to break the game open. With pinch runner Linde Daniel on second base, with one out, senior Julie Fonda sliced what looked to be a run-scoring single off Binnebose's glove into centerfield. UIC's Abby Booth cut down Daniel at home, though, as Arnold blocked the plate and swiped the tag on her. Arnold then popped up and fired to second, getting Fonda, who was trying to advance on the throw, to end the inning.
The two teams battled until there were two outs in the bottom of the ninth, when Christoferson blasted a game-winning home run over the left field wall to end the game. It was the second time this season Christoferson has hit a walk-off homer.
With the sweep, UIC improves to 40-21 on the season. The Flames will look to carry momentum into their doubleheader with league-leader UW-Green in Green Bay, Wis., on Sunday at 1:00 p.m.
