Fab Freshmen In The Circle
Seneca’s Pihl Out Duels Marquette’s Kinney ...
| Northern Illinois Sports Beat http://www.northernillinoissportsbeat.com |
At June Gross Field, Ottawa
Seneca 6, Marquette 1
Seneca (6) – Viken ss 3-0-2-
0, Shanks cf 2-1-0-1, Pihl p 3-
0-1-2, M. Houchin cr/rf 1-2-0-
0, Hougas c 4-0-1-1, Baker lf
3-0-0-0, T. Coughlin 3b 1-1-1-
0, S. McCormick 2b 2-1-0-0,
Jebens rf 2-0-0-0, C.
McCormick 1b 3-0-0-0. Totals
24-6-5-4.
Marquette (1) – Dougherty cf
3-1-1-0, Jessen ss 2-0-0-0,
Schomas 1b 3-0-1-1,
McCormick dp 2-0-0-0,
McDonald 3b 3-0-0-0, Caputo
rf 3-0-0-0, Kinney p 3-0-0-0,
Close cr 0-0-0-0, Wenzel lf 3-
0-0-0, Danekas c 3-0-0-0,
Paquette 2b 0-0-0-0. Totals
25-1-2-1.
Seneca 000 150 0 – 6 5 3
Marquette 000 100 0 – 1 2 1
LOB – Seneca 5; Marquette 5.
2B – T. Coughlin, Dougherty.
SB – Shanks. M. Houchin,
Hougas, Baker, T. Coughlin,
S. McCormick, Jessen. CS –
Viken, Shanks.
Seneca ip r er h bb k
Pihl (W, 19-8) 7 1 0 2 2 9
Marquette
Kinney (L, 2-1) 7 6 5 5 8 15
Records: Seneca (19-9),
Marquette (9-10)
Seneca 6, Marquette 1
Seneca (6) – Viken ss 3-0-2-
0, Shanks cf 2-1-0-1, Pihl p 3-
0-1-2, M. Houchin cr/rf 1-2-0-
0, Hougas c 4-0-1-1, Baker lf
3-0-0-0, T. Coughlin 3b 1-1-1-
0, S. McCormick 2b 2-1-0-0,
Jebens rf 2-0-0-0, C.
McCormick 1b 3-0-0-0. Totals
24-6-5-4.
Marquette (1) – Dougherty cf
3-1-1-0, Jessen ss 2-0-0-0,
Schomas 1b 3-0-1-1,
McCormick dp 2-0-0-0,
McDonald 3b 3-0-0-0, Caputo
rf 3-0-0-0, Kinney p 3-0-0-0,
Close cr 0-0-0-0, Wenzel lf 3-
0-0-0, Danekas c 3-0-0-0,
Paquette 2b 0-0-0-0. Totals
25-1-2-1.
Seneca 000 150 0 – 6 5 3
Marquette 000 100 0 – 1 2 1
LOB – Seneca 5; Marquette 5.
2B – T. Coughlin, Dougherty.
SB – Shanks. M. Houchin,
Hougas, Baker, T. Coughlin,
S. McCormick, Jessen. CS –
Viken, Shanks.
Seneca ip r er h bb k
Pihl (W, 19-8) 7 1 0 2 2 9
Marquette
Kinney (L, 2-1) 7 6 5 5 8 15
Records: Seneca (19-9),
Marquette (9-10)
By Bill Lidinsky
Northern Illinois Sports Beat Contributor
OTTAWA - It’s pretty rare to see a pair of freshmen pitchers dominate the way Seneca’s
Nicole Pihl and Marquette’s Kelsey Kinney did during the very same game Thursday
afternoon.
Both hurlers were in command through three innings as Pihl retired the first nine Lady
Crusaders she faced, while Kinney struck out the initial six out of nine Lady Irish that
stepped to the plate against her.
But in the end, it was Pihl who emerged as the winning freshman thrower on an extremely
windy day in the circle. The Irish right-hander allowed only one unearned run on two hits,
while fanning nine and walking two as Seneca bested Marquette 6-1 at June Gross Field.
The Lady Irish victory overshadowed Kinney’s dominating 15-strikeout performance, but
the Lady Crusader’s righty also issued eight walks on the day including five in a five-run
Seneca fifth inning which proved to be the difference.
“I was very impressed with Marquette’s pitcher (Kinney) especially for a freshman. It’s
going to be a nice little rivalry for four years I think between her and Nicole (Pihl),” said
Seneca coach Dan Stecken. “But I was also very proud of Nicole because it was tough to
pitch with all this wind. It certainly made the ball pop and move, but it also made it tough to
command your pitches. They both did a great job, but Nicole came out on the positive as
the winning freshman pitcher today.”
“They’re two good ones. They’ll both be around for awhile won’t they?” said Marquette
coach Jack Thompson. “I thought the Pihl girl did a great job for Seneca, but Kinney did
too. We just had one bad inning where things got away from us with all the walks. The two
girls really went at each other pitching for awhile.”
Seneca (19-9) got to Kinney first with one run in the top of the fourth without the aid of a
hit. Pihl walked and was replaced on the base paths by courtesy runner Megan Houchin.
Houchin then stole second and scored after two Kinney wild pitches to put the Lady Irish
up 1-0.
Marquette (9-10) then countered with its lone unearned run off Pihl in the bottom of the
frame to tie the score at one apiece. Megan Dougherty led off and reached on an error.
Two batters later she scored on Seneca’s second miscue of the stanza to draw the Lady
Cru even after four.
But the walls caved in on Marquette and Kinney in the top of the fifth. Five walks led to
five runs as Seneca grabbed a 6-1 advantage. Madi Shanks and Miranda Hougas each
had an RBI, but the big blow was Pihl’s two run single to right field that gave herself and
her teammates a nice cushion with two and a half innings to play.
“I was very, very excited to get that hit because I knew I had to do something to help
myself in order to win,” Pihl said. “I swung and hit the ball hard. I felt pretty confident after
that because we had a five run lead.”
Pihl allowed Marquette’s only two hits of the game in the fifth when Dougherty reached on
a double and in the sixth when Kailey Schomas singled. Otherwise she struck out five of
the last ten batters she faced to grab her 19th win on the 2010 campaign against only
eight losses.
“I didn’t realize it was a two hitter, but the wind helped me today to get more speed on my
fastball,” Pihl said. “Just like last week, I felt like I just had it again tonight. Having a day off
yesterday helped me. I felt really great today.”
In only her third start of the season, Kinney (2-1) allowed only five hits despite the loss.
“The walks are what really hurt us today. The wind bothered me a little bit, but that’s no
excuse,” Kinney said. “It was nice to get all the strikeouts, but that’s just way too many
walks for me to give up. Still I felt confident because my teammates were there to back me
up.”
Alanna Viken was 2-for-4 for Seneca with two singles, while Taelor Coughlin doubled to
help the Seneca cause.
Bill Lidinsky is a Northern Illinois Sports Beat contributor. He can be reached in care of
NISB at Northernillinoissportsbeat@yahoo.com. --- Talk about what's written on our
Message Boards!
Northern Illinois Sports Beat Contributor
OTTAWA - It’s pretty rare to see a pair of freshmen pitchers dominate the way Seneca’s
Nicole Pihl and Marquette’s Kelsey Kinney did during the very same game Thursday
afternoon.
Both hurlers were in command through three innings as Pihl retired the first nine Lady
Crusaders she faced, while Kinney struck out the initial six out of nine Lady Irish that
stepped to the plate against her.
But in the end, it was Pihl who emerged as the winning freshman thrower on an extremely
windy day in the circle. The Irish right-hander allowed only one unearned run on two hits,
while fanning nine and walking two as Seneca bested Marquette 6-1 at June Gross Field.
The Lady Irish victory overshadowed Kinney’s dominating 15-strikeout performance, but
the Lady Crusader’s righty also issued eight walks on the day including five in a five-run
Seneca fifth inning which proved to be the difference.
“I was very impressed with Marquette’s pitcher (Kinney) especially for a freshman. It’s
going to be a nice little rivalry for four years I think between her and Nicole (Pihl),” said
Seneca coach Dan Stecken. “But I was also very proud of Nicole because it was tough to
pitch with all this wind. It certainly made the ball pop and move, but it also made it tough to
command your pitches. They both did a great job, but Nicole came out on the positive as
the winning freshman pitcher today.”
“They’re two good ones. They’ll both be around for awhile won’t they?” said Marquette
coach Jack Thompson. “I thought the Pihl girl did a great job for Seneca, but Kinney did
too. We just had one bad inning where things got away from us with all the walks. The two
girls really went at each other pitching for awhile.”
Seneca (19-9) got to Kinney first with one run in the top of the fourth without the aid of a
hit. Pihl walked and was replaced on the base paths by courtesy runner Megan Houchin.
Houchin then stole second and scored after two Kinney wild pitches to put the Lady Irish
up 1-0.
Marquette (9-10) then countered with its lone unearned run off Pihl in the bottom of the
frame to tie the score at one apiece. Megan Dougherty led off and reached on an error.
Two batters later she scored on Seneca’s second miscue of the stanza to draw the Lady
Cru even after four.
But the walls caved in on Marquette and Kinney in the top of the fifth. Five walks led to
five runs as Seneca grabbed a 6-1 advantage. Madi Shanks and Miranda Hougas each
had an RBI, but the big blow was Pihl’s two run single to right field that gave herself and
her teammates a nice cushion with two and a half innings to play.
“I was very, very excited to get that hit because I knew I had to do something to help
myself in order to win,” Pihl said. “I swung and hit the ball hard. I felt pretty confident after
that because we had a five run lead.”
Pihl allowed Marquette’s only two hits of the game in the fifth when Dougherty reached on
a double and in the sixth when Kailey Schomas singled. Otherwise she struck out five of
the last ten batters she faced to grab her 19th win on the 2010 campaign against only
eight losses.
“I didn’t realize it was a two hitter, but the wind helped me today to get more speed on my
fastball,” Pihl said. “Just like last week, I felt like I just had it again tonight. Having a day off
yesterday helped me. I felt really great today.”
In only her third start of the season, Kinney (2-1) allowed only five hits despite the loss.
“The walks are what really hurt us today. The wind bothered me a little bit, but that’s no
excuse,” Kinney said. “It was nice to get all the strikeouts, but that’s just way too many
walks for me to give up. Still I felt confident because my teammates were there to back me
up.”
Alanna Viken was 2-for-4 for Seneca with two singles, while Taelor Coughlin doubled to
help the Seneca cause.
Bill Lidinsky is a Northern Illinois Sports Beat contributor. He can be reached in care of
NISB at Northernillinoissportsbeat@yahoo.com. --- Talk about what's written on our
Message Boards!
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