MATTOON, ILL. — St. Mary-of-the-Woods left no doubt which softball team was superior in the 2007 U.S. Collegiate Athletic Association national tournament Friday and Saturday at the Roundhouse Complex.
Using several players who grew up in the Wabash Valley, the Pomeroys dominated the competition and routed Judson (Ala.) 11-0 in five innings in the championship game Saturday night to stamp an exclamation point on a 5-0 weekend. They finished the season with a 25-13 record.
This was The Woods’ fifth USCAA title in the last six years and the first with Gary Rodgers as coach. Ashley Loomis, a junior and former Riverton Parke High School standout from Rosedale, pitched two shutouts over Judson and hit a three-run homer against defending USCAA champion Robert Morris-Springfield on Saturday to earn the tournament’s Most Valuable Player award.
“We all came together,” Loomis assessed after the final game. “We had a lot of drama [dealing with nervousness Friday], but we came together at the perfect time.”
After going 2-0 in pool play Friday, The Woods started the double-elimination portion of the tournament Saturday by blanking Judson 3-0. Besides Loomis’ four-hit pitching, the winners got a 3-for-4 hitting performance from Allison Tomey.
Later in the day, Rodgers’ squad downed Robert Morris-Springfield 11-4 after it fell behind 4-0. Loomis’ three-run blast to deep left-center field capped a five-run third inning that put the Pomeroys ahead to stay.
“Loomis broke it open for us with that home run,” Rodgers said. “They didn’t know it, but they were pitching right into her alley [low] … After that, our defense settled down and Theresa Alley did a good job of pitching.”
After that, Judson needed an 11-7 triumph over Robert Morris-Springfield to force a rematch with The Woods.
The rematch was no contest.
Loomis — who allowed only a third-inning double to Misty Jones and two walks in five innings of mound duty — received plenty of offensive support, some of it from herself.
Tomey led off the bottom of the first with a single and a stolen base before she advanced to third base on a wild pitch and raced home on a passed ball.
The next batter, Erica Ketner of Terre Haute, beat out an infield single, stole second and immediately moved up to third on a passed ball on the same play. One out later, Loomis tripled off the right-field fence to bring home Ketner to increase the Pomeroys’ advantage to 2-0.
Loomis admitted she doesn’t get many triples, because triples usually require speed, which is not her primary attribute.
“The coach was waving me on and I said to myself, ‘Are you kidding me? I’ve gotta go to third?’” Loomis recalled with a laugh.
The Pomeroys added four more runs in the second to pad their cushion to 6-0. Stacy Kutcher led off by getting hit by a pitch. One out later, Tomey doubled over the left fielder’s head to plate Kutcher and she advanced to third on the throw home.
With two outs, Alley bloop-singled in Tomey and Loomis followed with a double that one-hopped off the right-center-field fence. Then former West Vigo standout Amanda Daniel knocked both of them in with a double into the right-center-field gap.
The Woods hammered the final nail in Judson’s coffin with five runs in the fourth. Tomey led off with another single and another steal, then Ketner drove an RBI double down the left-field line. Alley followed with an RBI single and Loomis reached on an error.
Daniel singled to score courtesy-runner Alisha Mosier before Lindsey McNulty reached on a fielder’s choice. Kutcher capped off the outburst by looping a two-run single into center.
“We played awesome,” Daniel said during the postgame celebration. “We played as a team. We played like a national-championship team.”
“This group peaked at the right time,” emphasized Rodgers, who had coached plenty of good teams in 20 years combined at Lincoln Trail and Olney Central colleges without winning a national title. “They were hard to beat all day. I’m really proud of them.”
For the game, The Woods stole five bases, two by Tomey.
“We came out and took it away from them right away in the first inning,” Rodgers said. “I think our speed was too much for their defense.”
“Taking advantage of every situation, especially when you’ve got speed on the bases, it always helps,” Tomey noted. “Speed can be a little intimidating, I think.”
Woods seniors Tomey, Ketner, Daniel, Kutcher, Mosier and Erin Brackney all played the final games of their collegiate careers Saturday. For Ketner, this was the final time she got to play with her younger sister/teammate Jessica Ketner.
“It’s been great,” Erica Ketner reflected. “But it’s kind of sad that it’s all over.”
• • •
• Tournament notes — Four members of The Woods were named to the all-tournament team. They are Daniel, Erica Ketner, Tomey and Loomis.
Early Saturday games
SMWC 012 000 0 — 3 6 0
Judson 000 000 0 — 0 4 1
Loomis (W, 12-1) and Brackney; Bounds, Eubanks (4) and Glass.
Highlights — For The Woods, Allison Tomey went 3 for 4 and Amanda Daniel singled in a run in the third inning.
Robert Morris-Springfield 004 000 0 — 4 7 2
SMWC 005 213 x — 11 15 1
Neff and Doarn; Alley (W, 5-5) and Brackney. HR — SMWC: Loomis (12).
Highlights — For The Woods, Ashley Loomis went 3 for 4 with a three-run homer in the third, a double and four RBIs, Jessica Ketner went 2 for 4 with a double and two RBIs, Allison Tomey went 2 for 4 with a double, Amanda Daniel went 2 for 4 with two RBIs, Erica Ketner also went 2 for 4 and winning pitcher Theresa Alley went 1 for 4 with two RBIs.
Other Saturday scores – Judson 5, Penn State-Beaver 3; St. Joseph’s (N.Y.) 6, Briarcliffe 5; Robert Morris-Springfield 12, St. Joseph’s 0 (5 innings); Penn State-Beaver 13, Briarcliffe 0 (5 innings); Judson 4, St. Joseph’s 1; Judson 11, Robert Morris-Springfield 7.
College
Pomeroys win softball championship
- College
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DeNato proves IU can pitch too
Joey DeNato dispelled the notion that College World Series newcomer Indiana is all about offense.
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Metro roundup: Former Sycamores take talents to CFL
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ISU’s scheduled game at Minnesota in 2016. -
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Swift ran a time of 13.51 seconds to take third in his heat. He’ll run in either lane 1 or lane 8 on Saturday.
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ISU's Manaea selected 34th overall by Royals
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Sycamores ready for more NCAA track success
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Dustin Betz has been a scorer and key piece of eight Missouri Valley Conference championship teams between track and cross country. He’ll compete today in the 3,000-meter steeplechase as the Sycamores’ second best in the event behind Jordan Fife. -
Mike Lucas joins ISU football staff
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Indiana State football coach Mike Sanford provided insight into that question as he hired former Southeast Louisiana head coach Mike Lucas to his staff Tuesday. Lucas will be the Sycamores’ defensive line coach.
“You have to look at your staff and see what you need. I felt like in this particular case, I wanted an experienced defensive line coach. I feel like we have a mixture of experience and youth and I want to keep that going,” Sanford said. -
TODD GOLDEN: MVC Tourney can be ISU success story if work is done
Prior to last week’s Missouri Valley Conference baseball tournament at Illinois State’s Duffy Bass Field, fear and loathing prevailed in some corners of the conference.
It seemed that Missouri State, Creighton, and most notably, Wichita State, had a monopoly on the season-ending tournament since the Coolidge Administration. (It had actually been since 1998.) How could the tournament make it without playing in one of the three aforementioned universities’ big venues? - COLLEGE REPORT: Wabash College All-American relay team has TH flavor
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Sycamores bow out of MVC Tournament
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Metro Sports: Chalk up No. 5 for Liz Evans
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Four Indiana State athletes advance to NCAA outdoor track and field championships
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Wichita State shuts out ISU to force elimination-game rematch
Indiana State starting pitcher Greg Kuhlman did his best.
Actually, he did far better than he ever has previously in an ISU uniform, but while Kuhlman’s gutty pitching effort spoke volumes, ISU’s bats remained ominously silent. -
Indiana State baseball now one win from MVC Championship
Indiana State’s Wednesday morning wish list probably read something like this: a dominant complete game effort from starting pitcher Devin Moore, near-immaculate defense to support him, and a steady diet of clutch situational hitting from lineup spots one to nine.
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Terre Haute's Mascari running 10,000 meters for chance to get to Hayward Field
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Manaea's shoulder causing him latest pain
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ISU's Negele answers call in big way in wake of Manaea injury
When Indiana State starting pitcher Sean Manaea slumped on the mound in obvious pain after he took his warm-up pitches, red flags raised for ISU’s Missouri Valley Conference tournament hopes.
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ISU baseball hoping Manaea can get its MVC Tournament moving in right direction
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But this is the 2013 Sycamores, after all, and after a season in which seemingly little has gone right, it appears its stars will remain crossed at the Missouri Valley Conference Tournament. -
ISU track sending record 22 to postseason
On the heels of their thrilling double victory at the 2013 Missouri Valley Conference Outdoor Track & Field Championships both the Indiana State men and women moved up in the national rankings which were released Tuesday by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA).
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ISU's athletic treasure trove
Think of every championship that Indiana State has won in each of its sports, past and present. Think of every tournament — postseason or regular season — which the Sycamores have claimed as their own.
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Ort sets ISU RBI record in 16-7 win
Robby Ort celebrated his Indiana State baseball Senior Day on Saturday by becoming the Sycamores’ all-time leader in RBIs as ISU ended its regular season with a 16-7 win over Bradley at Bob Warn Field.
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Bradley ends 16-game MVC losing streak against ISU
Momentum was the only thing riding on Indiana State’s baseball game against Bradley on Friday. With a five-game winning streak going, ISU wanted to keep the good vibes going into next week’s Missouri Valley Conference Tournament.
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