2003-2004 News

Five Eagles recognized in post-season awards!

2004 USCAA Spring Academic All-Americans

Tiffany Bennett - JR - Bunker Hill, IL
Allison Stauner - JR - Burbank, IL

Tiffany and Allison were recognized with the two highest GPA's of all the USCAA Spring Academic All-Americans.

2004 USCAA All-Americans 1st Team

Megan Hannigan - 1st Base - JR - Yorkville, IL
Melissa Hunt - Outfield - JR - Carrier Mills, IL

2004 USCAA Honorable Mention

Shanna Reach - Outfield - JR - Sugar Grove, IL

Shanna received this honor despite playing in only 50% of the games this season due to a broken bone in her hand she suffered.

Congratulations to all these young ladies!

RMC-Springfield eliminated!

Round 1
RMC-Springfield 4
LaGrange 6

Round 2
RMC-Springfield 4
St. Mary's of the Woods 14

The Lady Eagles were eliminated from the championships after being defeated by eventual champion St. Mary's of the Woods. This is the third consecutive year St. Mary's has won the championship.

The Lady Eagles finished their inaugural season with an overall record of 14-28, and look forward to the promise of the future as they continue to grow as a team.

Lady Eagles receive #5 seed!

The Springfield Lady Eagles received the #5 seed to this years USCAA Softball Championships. The 14-26 Eagles will face host LaGrange College in their first round game on Friday, April 30th at 11:00 a.m.

Friday, April 30
Game 1: #4 LaGrange College vs. #5 RMC-Springfield - 11:00 a.m.
Game 2: #2 St. Mary's of the Woods vs. #3 Southern Virginia - 1:00 p.m.
Game 3: Winner of Game 1 vs. #1 St. Joseph's - 3:00 p.m.
Game 4: Loser of Game 1 vs. Loser of Game 2 - 5:00 p.m.

Saturday, May 1
Game 5: Winner of Game 1 vs. Loser of Game 3 - 11:00 a.m.
Game 6: Winner of Game 3 vs. Winner of Game 2 - 1:00 p.m.
Game 7: Winner of Game 5 vs. Loser of Game 6 - 3:00 p.m.
Game 8: Winner of Game 6 vs. Winner of Game 7 - 5:00 p.m.
Game 9: If needed - 7:00 p.m.

Robert Morris takes two from SCI!

The Lady Eagles defeated Springfield College 15-3 in five innings and 13-5 in six innings in a doubleheader. Melissa Hunt was 6-for-7 in the two games for RMC, and Tiffany Bennett had two hits and drove in four runs in the first game. Samantha Busby (7-11) was the winning pitcher in the opener, going 2-for-2 at the plate.

Robert Morris scored fours runs in the first inning of the second game to support winning pitcher Amber Peterson (3-5). Becky Hobson had two hits for the Eagles.

Springfield Lady Eagles represent well in Chicago Tourney!

Hosted by the Lady Eagles of RMC-Chicago, the Orland Park Tournament was a good measuring stick for the women's softball program in Springfield. Playing against very strong competition, RMC-Springfield went 1-3 while showing extremely well. Coming up just short, perhaps the most exciting game was against a strong Indiana Wesleyan squad. With both teams playing great defense, and Sam Busby pitching well for RMC, allowing just six hits in 7-innings, RMC-Springfield fell to IW 0-1. The Lady Eagles had their chance to tie, and possibly win, but in the seventh inning stranded two runners.

Their victory came against a very strong Canadian squad from Durham University located in Ontario, Canada. Ashley Hooker, back from an injury, started the bottom of the seventh inning off with a triple. Megan Hannigan, then in story book fashion, hit a walk off home run for the 6-4 victory. Sam Busby recorded the win.

Lewis takes two from Robert Morris!

Winning pitcher Kristen Porzel, Lewis University, allowed only one hit in the first game, which ended in the fifth inning by the eigth run rule. In the nightcap, it was A.J. Laserhausen who held the Lady Eagles to one earned run in six innings. RMC touched Laserhausen for seven hits. Samantha Busby went the distance for RMC in the second game giving up four earned runs on thirteen hits.

RMC-Springfield player receives special mention!

Outfielder Shanna Reach, a transfer from Waubansee CC, received Special Mention votes towards the USCAA Softball Player of the Week for the week ending March 29, 2004.

Rain was the story over the weekend!

As RMC-Springfield was hosting games on Saturday and Sunday, only two out of four were able to be played. The Lady Eagles defeated Greenville College 9-2 and then were beaten by Aurora University 1-3. Their third game on Saturday was called due to weather against Webster University. On Sunday, only two innings were able to be played against visiting Oakland City University as thunderstorms forced the game to be called.

RMC splits pair with NCAA Div. III Eureka!

The Lady Eagles defeated Eureka in opener on pitching by Samantha Busby and offense provided by Amber Peterson who tripled and singled in the game. Allison Stauner continued her hot hitting reaching base on all four plate appearances and doubling twice. Eureka was able to win the nightcap on some outstanding defense. Shanna Reach had tripled with the bases loaded for RMC in the 5th inning and trying to make a play was thrown out at home. RMC was applying pressure again in the 6th inning. With two runners on for RMC and two outs, Eureka's second baseman made a tremendous play on a hard hit liner from Amber Peterson to secure the win.

Oakland City pitching shuts down RMC!

Oakland City University pitching held RMC to eight hits in two games Sunday as they swept the Lady Eagles 1-4 and 1-10. Melissa Hunt led the Eagles with a 2 for 3 performance from the plate in the opener, and collected a third hit in the nightcap. Shanna Reach homered for RMC in the second game.

RMC splits pair with Lincoln College!

Ashley Hooker picked up her second win of the season as the Lady Eagles salvaged a split by defeating Lincoln College 11-3 in the second game of a double-header. Hooker pitched five innings because the game ended on the slaughter rule. She struck out four and allowed two earned runs. Allison Stauner was 3 for 3 and drove in two runs, while Tiffany Bennett and Samantha Busby each had two hits and an RBI. Lincoln College benefited from nine RMC errors to win the first game.

RMC goes 2-3 in Milliken Tournament!

The Lady Eagles of Springfield posted two wins over the weekend at the Milliken Tournament. RMC dropped their first game to USCAA foe St. Mary's of the Woods 2-5. A strong performance from Samantha Busby was negated when a St. Mary's player touched her for a 7th inning home run to secure the victory. Melissa Hunt went 2 for 4 from the plate. In Game 2 lightning struck again as RMC gave up another 7th inning home run. The Lady Eagles had rallied back from a 4-run deficit on a Shanna Reach grand slam in the 6th inning only to see the score remain 4-4 for a short while. Amber Peterson suffered the loss for RMC. The first day of competition would end on a positive note as RMC defeated Concordia University 7-2. Amber Peterson was 3 for 4, Melissa Hunt was 2 for 4, and Allison Stauner had 2 RBI's to support Tiffany Bennett who was on the mound for RMC. Bennett recorded five strike outs and no earned runs.

Day two saw more of the same. In their first game on Sunday, RMC was bombed by St. Mary's of the Woods as RMC pitchers were unable to find the strike zone in the 3rd inning giving up six walks. Eventually RMC would lose 1-10. They completed the day and tournament with another victory of Concordia. Ashley Hooker got her first pitching start and nailed down the win. In 6 innings, she allowed one run and recorded five strike outs. Melissa Hunt had three hits with Allison Stauner and Megan Hannigan having two hits apiece.

RMC captures first victory in program history!

Behind the pitching of Samantha Busby, RMC rallied late and secured the programs first victory on a Shanna Reach single in the 8th inning for the game winner. The Lady Eagles improved their record by also winning the second game of their double header with Alverno College. In Game 2, it was the combination of Amber Peterson and Ashley Hooker pitching RMC to victory. Megan Hannigan and Tiffany Bennett supplied most of the offense for RMC each recording two hits.

Softball Underway!

The Lady Eagles of Springfield officially started their inaugural season with a trip to southern Illinois and Kentucky facing Rend Lake CC and Spalding University. Although the Eagles were unable to notch a victory, they played very competitive with two very good programs.

RMC-Springfield softball welcomes new member to coaching staff!

Kara Provines, from Chatham, IL, will be joining the coaching staff for RMC softball as Head Coach Mark Brayfield's assistant. Provines, a 1998 graduate of Chatham Glenwood High School, was a four-year varsity member, a four-time All-Conference Central State 8 catcher, a three-time All-Star selection and team captain for three seasons. After high school, Provines starred for Lincoln Land Community College where she was an All-Region First Teamer. After completing her associates degree from LLCC, Provines went on to attend and graduate from Southern Illinois University in Edwardsville. Provines received her B.S. from SIU-E in 2002 concentrating in Business Administration/Finance.

Coach Brayfield commented, "Kara is very excited about her first college coaching assignment, and we are very eager to share and receive her knowledge of the game with our players."

Strength in Character!

First year coach Mark Brayfield summed up his teams first fall season this way, "They showed a lot of character. That's something either you have or don't, and this group definitely displays the type of character to win games!" The experience this fall will definitely assist in carrying over into the spring as all the girls received a lot of playing time this fall.

Coach Brayfield also wants to state there are still roster spots available for the spring season if any students or anyone new is interested in trying out. The team will begin off-season conditioning in a few weeks.

Congratulation ladies to a terrific start!

Lady Eagles impress at Purdue North Central Invitational!

The Springfield Lady Eagles continue to improve as a squad and it was never as apparent as this past weekend at Purdue North Central. As part of a four-team invitational, RMC swept the competition. The Lady Eagles started by sweeping Ancilla College in a double header Saturday morning by the scores of 15-4 and 9-5. Later they would go on to shut-out Indiana Tech 4-0. It would be their last opponent of the day that capped off their weekend. As they faced host school Purdue North Central, RMC rallied from three runs down in the 6th inning to tie the game at 3-3. It was in extra innings that Megan Hannigan drove in the winning runs for RMC. This marks the third time this fall that Hannigan has delivered a game winning hit.

Congrats ladies and keep up the good work!

Fall Ball Continues...

Saturday, September 13th: No contest as the game between RMC and Springfield College in Illinois was canceled.

Sunday, September 14th: RMC splits with Lincoln College. The first contest saw Lincoln College victorious 4-2, however, in the return game, RMC defeated Lincoln College 12-4.

Fall Ball Begins!

Our girls played tough against Parkland. RMC-Springfield was down 5-1 until the 6th when RMC came back with 4 to tie. The game was tied until the 8th and Parkland won the tie breaker scoring 2 to RMC's 1 run. Amber Peterson pitched well. Shaunna Reach had 2 RBI's, Busby 1 RBI, and Allison Stauner doubled.

Game 2 called after 4 for darkness. Score: Rend Lake 1, RMC 0. Sam Busby pitched well allowing only 1 hit. Melisa Hunt had 2 for 2 at the plate. Fall scrimmage now 2-2. Next game Saturday at 1 p.m. at Lincoln Land Complex.