Lauren Zembruski
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February 14, 2009
KENNESAW, Ga. - Southern Illinois University Edwardsville was crowned champions of the 2009 Phyllis Rafter/Kennesaw State tournament after a pair of victories Saturday over Wright State.
SIUE, winners of eight straight games, defeated Wright State 5-0 in the final game of round robin play. The Cougars, now 8-1 overall, then won the tournament title with a 9-3 game in the early evening.
Lauren Zembruski was named the tournament Most Valuable Player after batting .455 with two home runs and nine RBIs over four games. SIUE pitchers Kaitlin Colosimo, Erika Taylor and outfielders Courtney Mall and Chaleen Rumpf were named to the All-Tournament team.
SIUE Coach Sandy Montgomery said the Cougars have been surprising teams so far this season.
"We hit the ball well today. We're starting to be very smart at the plate and do good things," said Montgomery.
Taylor tossed a four-hit shutout early in the day and then picked up a win in relief. Her record now stands at 6-0 for the season.
In the championship game, SIUE rallied for six runs in the bottom of the sixth to push past the Raiders. Nicole Beecher singled home two runs in the inning. Mall, Zembruski and Lindsay Longfellow all picked up RBIs in the inning.
SIUE had scored first in the game on an RBI double by Mall in the third inning. Wright State tied the game in the top of the fourth when Kristen Bradshaw scored off an infield error.
The Cougars regained the lead in the fifth as Zembruski launched her second home run in as many days, a two-run blast that gave the Cougars a two-run lead.
Wright State would rally back again for two runs in the sixth. Another SIUE infield error helped two runs cross, tying the score.
SIUE then tripled its offensive output in one inning, placing the game out of reach. Taylor, in relief of Colosimo, struck out five in her five outs of work to eliminate another Wright State comeback.
Earlier in the day, SIUE used the late innings extend its lead. Zembruski's two-run double in the fifth gave SIUE a 3-0 lead. Back-to-back RBI hits by Paige Sheeder and Kay Hagelberg put SIUE ahead by five through six innings.
Taylor struck out four and gave up four hits in the complete-game shutout.
SIUE, which outscored its opponent 26-6 this past weekend, next heads to the Mississippi State Tournament next weekend. The tournament features Mississippi State, Evansville and Rutgers.
1st Annual Phyllis Rafter Memorial Tournament
Tournament Champions
SIU Edwardsville
Tournament MVP
Lauren Zembruski, SIU Edwardsville
All Tournament Team
Katie Betry, Tennessee Tech
Bri Birl, Wright State
Jessica Cross, Kennesaw State
Kaitlin Colosimo, SIU Edwardsville
Louis Haney, Wright State
Ashleigh Jackson, Wright State
Courtney Mall, SIU Edwardsville
Chaleen Rumpf, SIU Edwardsville
Callie Schmidt, Tennessee Tech
Justine Shilt, Wright State
Erika Taylor, SIU Edwardsville
Holly Thomas, Tennessee Tech
Klair Wells, Kennesaw State
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