May 12, 2001
Box Score
Chicago, Ill. - The UIC softball team is on its way to the 2001 NCAA Regional Championships, following its 2-1 triumph over UW-Green Bay in the title game of the MCC Tournament at Loyola Softball Park on Saturday afternoon.
This will be the fourth consecutive trip to regionals for the Flames (46-23), who will take a 13-game winning streak into the event. UIC will find out its regional destination and opponents when the 48-team bracket is revealed tomorrow night at 7:30 p.m. CDT.
"One theme we had from the start of the year was to peak as a team at the right time," UIC Head Coach Mike McGovern said after the game. "In what was supposed to be a rebuilding year for us, it is really exciting to be going back to the NCAA's."
Rookie starter Alison Aguilar was masterful in the circle for the Flames on Saturday. Aguilar went the distance, scattering six hits and allowing just one unearned run while striking out a career-high tying seven batters en route to her 15th win of the season. Jenny Piotrowski (6-14) was the tough-luck loser for UW-Green Bay, which fell to the Flames in the title game for the third straight season.
On the offensive end, freshman Amanda Rivera was the offensive hero for UIC, lacing a two-out RBI single through the right side in the bottom of the sixth inning that broke a 1-1 tie.
Senior Stefanie Christoferson gave the Flames their other run, staking them to an early 1-0 lead with a towering home run off the top of the scoreboard in left-centerfield in the fourth inning. It was her team-high 14th blast of the year.
The Phoenix (22-23) scored their only run in the top of the sixth inning when an error by UIC second baseman Emily Stoddard allowed Erin Barnharst to score from second.
Stoddard more than made up for the miscue in the bottom of the seventh, though, as she turned a beautiful 4-3 double play, tagging Lisa Barker as she ran by then flipping the ball to first baseman Melissa Garvey to end the game and set off a wild celebration.
Following the win, UIC's Stefanie Christoferson was named the tournament MVP while teammate Jennifer Tiffany was named the offensive player of the tournament. The Flames landed five players on the all-tournament team as Christoferson, Tiffany, Edel Leyden, Jacquelyne Vaca and Amber Stachura all earned a spot on the squad.
