May 21, 2004
Box Score
WACO, Texas-Lisa Ferguson relieved a fatigued Cristin Vitek in the second inning and tossed 5.2 scoreless innings as the third-seeded Baylor softball team defeated second-seeded Illinois 5-0 to advance in the winner's bracket of the NCAA Softball Championships at Getterman Stadium.
With the win, Baylor improved to 48-15 on the season as the Lady Bears will face the winner of the LSU-Seton Hall match-up on Saturday, May 22, at 2:00 p.m.
The Lady Bears grabbed an early lead on the Illini with a pair of two-out runs in the top of the second inning. With the bases loaded, Danelle Arnold singled through the left side as Amber Daniel came home from third to give the Lady Bears a 1-0 lead.
Harmony Schwethelm made it back-to-back, two-out, bases loaded singles when she hit a line drive to center field to score Kim Wilmoth to give the No. 19 Lady Bears a two-run cushion.
The Fighting Illini tried to mount a rally in the second, placing runners on first and third with only one out, however, Ferguson came into the game in relief of Vitek to retire the next two batters as Baylor took a 2-0 lead into the third inning.
Baylor made it 3-0 in the fourth, as Wilmoth scored her second run of the game on an April Luce ground out to second base.
After the Illini were retired in order in the bottom of the inning, the Lady Bears added two runs in the fifth to put the game away. Melissa Maler singled to score Schwethelm as Pomes followed with a double to score Kelly Osburn to give Baylor a 5-0 lead.
Ferguson (16-6) then retired nine of the next 10 batters to close out her 16th win of the season. In the victory, Ferguson allowed only two hits in 5.2 innings of work while striking out two Illinois batters.
Wilmoth and Kelly Levesque added two hits each for the Lady Bears, as Baylor advanced to the Waco regional semi-finals.
Illinois starting pitcher Amanda Fortune took the loss, as she allowed three runs on six hits in three innings of work to drop to 28-10 on the season.
The Fighting Illini will now face Houston in an elimination game at 5:30 p.m. on Friday, May 21, at Getterman Stadium.
