March 8, 2009

Box Score

CLEARWATER, Fla. - The UIC softball team closed out the weekend at the USF Under-Armour Invitational with a 5-0 victory over St. Bonaventure on Sunday morning.

The Flames (4-14) end the weekend with a 2-3 record after this morning's victory and Saturday's win over Ball State. UIC fell to Hofstra and NC State on Friday before a close 3-2 loss to Virginia Tech on Saturday evening.

"Overall, it was a good weekend for us," said head coach Michelle Venturella. "We definitely took strides forward and will continue to work hard and improve week by week."

UIC took care of all offensive needs in the first inning, scoring all five runs off of six hits.

Claire Donyanavard drove in a pair of runs off of a deep left-field single that allowed Melissa Marinacci and Brooke Frydendall to score easily. Marinacci would go 2-for-3 on the day, picking up a hit in the first as well as the second inning.

Freshmen Kelsey Sturgeon and Shannon Kehr had fine outings this morning as Sturgeon drove in a run off of her left-field single, and Kehr went 2-for-3 on the day, including her first double of the season.

Sarah Clynes picked up her first win of the season in the circle for UIC, striking out a season-high five and scattering seven hits.

St. Bonaventure produced a number of scoring opportunities, but twice were thwarted with the inning concluding with the bases loaded, stranding 13 on base for the contest.

The Flames return to action next Friday at the Cardinal Invitational in Louisville, Ky. where they will face Ohio State at 1 p.m. CST.