March 23, 2001
Box Score
2001 Buzz Classic
Al Bishop Softball Complex
Pool Play - Game #2
UIC 4, Georgia Tech 3 (8 innings)
Marietta, Ga. - Emily Hallmann's game-tying single in the seventh and Amber Stachura's two-run home run in the eighth inning ended a long day for the UIC softball team as they rallied past Georgia Tech, 4-3, in extra innings at the 2001 Buzz Classic.
The Flames, who left the UIC campus at 8:00 a.m. for a 10:30 a.m. flight to Atlanta, did not leave O'Hare until 4:00 p.m. due to problems with their aircraft. This forced the team to forfeit its first game of pool play with Stetson, which was scheduled for 6:00 p.m., as UIC did not arrive at the Al Bishop Softball Complex until moments before its 8:00 p.m. contest with the Yellow Jackets.
"To more or less step off the vans and play really tells something about this team," a weary UIC head coach Mike McGovern remarked after the Flames' win. "Everything considered, this is probably one of the best performances by a UIC team in my 12 years of coaching."
Freshman Alycia Creese went the distance in the circle for the Flames on Friday, improving to a team-best 10-7 on the season. The rookie scattered four hits while allowing three unearned runs. Fellow frosh Erin Voeltz picked up the loss for the Yellow Jackets, falling to 7-7 on the year.
UIC (20-16) and Georgia Tech (16-11) both scored quickly out of the gate with both teams capitalizing on their opponents' early miscues.
The Flames' Jennifer Tiffany crossed the plate in the top of the first inning as an errant throw by Tech second baseman Ellen Styer, who miss played a ground ball off the bat of Jacquelyne Vaca, allowed UIC to gain the 1-0 lead. Georgia Tech answered in the bottom of the frame with Styer reaching on an error by Tiffany, then coming home on designated hitter Tasha Waugh's fourth home run of the season.
The score remained 2-1 into the top of the seventh inning when leadoff-batter Emily Stoddard reached on an error by Tech third baseman Jamie Frost. Tiffany advanced Stoddard to second on a ground out to short, then sophomore Emily Hallmann, who has missed the Flames' last seven games with a neck injury, tied the score with an RBI single to center field.
Creese, with the help of a running catch by center fielder Edel Leyden, kept the Yellow Jackets at bay in the bottom of the frame to send the game into extra innings.
With Stefanie Christoferson starting at second base under international tie-breaker rules, Amy Gonzales led off the inning for UIC by sacrificing her to third. Stachura then gave the Flames the hit they needed as she faked bunt then pulled back to line Voeltz offering over the left field wall to put UIC ahead 4-2. It was her first home run of the season.
The Yellow Jackets would score one in the bottom of the eighth on a sacrifice fly, but the Flames would hold on for a hard-fought 4-3 win.
McGovern's crew, which does not get tagged with a loss for missing its game with Stetson on its season record, will continue pool play tomorrow afternoon as they take on Tennessee-Martin at 1:00 p.m. EST, before battling Coastal Carolina at 5:00 p.m. EST. UIC might also begin bracket play tomorrow with first-round games starting at 8:00 p.m. EST.
