UW-GREEN BAY CAPTURES FIRST-EVER HORIZON LEAGUE SOFTBALL CHAMPIONSHIP

May 15, 2005

2005 Softball Championship Page

Green Bay, Wis. - After defeating No. 5 Detroit 10-1 in five innings, UW-Green Bay twice defeated No. 2 Cleveland State in extra innings, topping the Vikings 3-1 in eight innings and 2-1 in 10 innings to take the League title and advance to its first ever NCAA tournament.

A walk-off home run by Michelle Kaminski in the bottom of the 10^th inning gave the Phoenix the 2005 title in dramatic fashion and a bid to play in the 2005 NCAA Softball Championship May 20-22 at a site to be determined on Sunday (May 15). NCAA Division I Softball Championship

Weather played a major role during the three-day tournament, including the final and decisive game of the championship between the Phoenix and Vikings.

The host Phoenix took an early 1-0 lead when Dana Brockman scored on a fielder's choice in the bottom of the first inning.  UW-Green Bay held the same lead until the bottom of the seventh inning, but with two outs and two strikes the Vikings' Amber Lowe singled to shallow center field and knocked in Anna Hubert for the game-tying run to knot the contest at 1-1. A few seconds later, Mother Nature reared her ugly head once again as a torrential downpour quickly engulfed the area.

The Championship Game was delayed for about an hour in order to let the rain end and for the field to be reassessed and redone to insure safe and proper playing conditions for both teams.  

Once the game resumed, each team struggled to score as the contest remained knotted at 1-1 heading into the 10^th inning. After the Phoenix retired three-straight Viking batters in the top half of the inning, UWGB came to bat with a chance to win the game.

After Ali Rostkowski flied out to right field, Kaminski's game-winning home run quickly followed, as she sailed the 2-1 pitch over the fence in left center field.

Lisa Meissner picked up the win in the circle as she fanned 15 batters while giving up only five hits in the complete-game victory.

For the first time since 1991, a team took the league tournament title after coming out of the consolation bracket to beat an undefeated team twice consecutively in the double-elimination tournament. Despite twice giving up the game-tying run in the seventh inning, the Phoenix became the first team to win two extra-inning games to take the league championship, with both victories coming on walk-off home runs.

2005 SOFTBALL ALL-TOURNAMENT TEAM AND AWARDS

Stephanie Hansen, UW-Green Bay (MVP)

Ali Rostkowski, UW-Green Bay

Michelle Kaminski, UW-Green Bay

Grace Luginbuhl, Cleveland State

Michelle Penney, Cleveland State

Jackie Cornelius, Cleveland State

Anna Ollgaard, Detroit

Michelle Baggio, Detroit

Sara Hernandez, UIC

Batting Champion - Sara Hernandez, UIC

Pitching Award - Lisa Meissner, UW-Green Bay

Defensive Award - Kate Sullivan, UW-Green Bay