April 26, 2011

Story courtesy of Judson Sports Information

ELGIN, Ill. – It was a night to remember for the six Judson  University (Ill.) seniors as they went out in style sweeping Trinity International University (Ill.) in CCAC play to clinch a tie for their first-ever CCAC regular season championship, 14-6, and 3-1.  Judson also tied the program record for wins in a season with 31 and now have a program best 14 CCAC wins.

Sam Gladen (Cary, Ill.) and Sarah Boyer (McHenry, Ill.) both picked up the wins as Gladen now has 12 wins and Boyer 10.  Boyer also had a career night in the circle with 12 strikeouts. 

Game 1

Judson 14, Trinity International 6

Down 4-0 after the first half inning, Judson responded with 10 runs in the bottom of the first for a commanding six-run lead, 10-4.  They went on to produce 14 hits for 14 runs in the 14-6 win in five innings.  Gladen worked five innings for five strikeouts to earn her 12^th win.  Judson was led by Emily England’s (Atlanta, Ill.) four RBI on three hits and Nicole Dimiceli’s (Itasca, Ill.) three RBI on three hits.  Carrie Sensor (Elgin, Ill.) finished with two RBI with two hits and Brittany Holm (Johnsburg, Ill.), Erin Stankus (Naperville, Ill.), and Kristin Krueger (Palatine, Ill.) all had one RBI.  Judson also produced three home runs from Dimiceli, England, and Stankus.

Trinity International led the game off with four runs in the top of the first inning.  Judson came roaring back with 10 runs in the bottom of the inning as they took control of the game.  After a groundout to start the inning, Sensor was walked which led to back-to-back home runs by Dimiceli and England to put Judson within one, 4-3.  Gladen then followed with a double off the left field fence and was brought in to tie the game at four on a Holm single to right field.  Two batters later, Krueger singled in Holm to take the lead, 5-4.  A Trinity International error on Concetta Lampugnano’s (Bartlett, Ill.) at bat let two more runs come in for a 7-4 lead.  Sensor then singled in Lampugnano for the eighth run and the scoring was finished with a double by England to score Dimiceli and Sensor. 

Sensor gave Judson another run in the second inning on a single through the right side of the infield as Haley Secor (Plano, Ill.) touched home plate.  Two more runs were scored in the fourth inning on back-to-back doubles from Dimiceli and England for a 13-6 lead.

Stankus finished the game in the bottom of the fifth inning with a walkoff home run with one out to give Judson the eight run lead.

Game 2

Judson 3, Trinity International 1

It was a different tone in game two as Judson squeezed out a two-run win to claim a share of the 2011 CCAC championship.  Boyer had a perfect game for Judson through the third inning and finished with 12 strikeouts for a career-high.  She only allowed one earned run and three hits for her 10^th win of the year. Holm, Sensor, and Lampugnano each had two hits for Judson while Sensor, Secor and  Hallie Niewold all had one RBI.

Judson scored one run in the second and third innings before Trinity International cut the lead to one, 2-1, in the top of fourth inning.  Judson added an insurance run in the fifth inning to make it 3-1.

In the second inning, Sensor singled through the left side as Lampugnano became the first run of the game.  England started off the third inning with a triple and came in on the very next at-bat by Secor as she singled to left field.  After Trinity International cut the lead to one,  Judson brought in one run in the fifth inning as Niewold flew out to centerfield for a sacrifice fly as Stankus crossed home plate for a 3-1 lead.

With the wins, Judson wins their first-ever CCAC championship in softball.  Head coach Becky Stenning, who is the all-time wins leader at Judson, is in her seventh season at Judson.  It marks a great tribute to senior class who has had three players who have been a part of the program for four years in Nicole Dimiceli, Carrie Sensor, and Kristin Krueger.  Sam Gladen is a three-year player and Brittany Holm and Haley Secor both played two years.  Dimiceli has rewritten the career record book as she now holds five career records and four single season records.  Both Sensor and Krueger are in several career top 10 lists and single season lists.  Gladen and Holm also will be in the career top 10 in atleast one category. 

Judson will now wait and see who they will play in the upcoming CCAC Tournament in May.