May 4, 2008
Box Score
Kalamazoo, Mich. - The Miami softball team closed out its 2008 regular season in decisive fashion on Sunday, shutting out Western Michigan, 6-0. With the victory, the RedHawks finish the season with a 13-9 Mid-American Conference record, solidifying the No.4 seed for the MAC Tournament
Sophomore pitcher Shalise Lugo was brilliant for the RedHawks, coming within two outs of a no-hitter. Lugo allowed just the one hit and struck out four batters in the blanking of Western Michigan, earning her ninth victory of the season. She has not given up more than two runs in her last nine appearances.
Senior outfielder Breanna Robinson continued to torch opposing pitchers in the final game of the regular season, driving in three runs on a double, giving her five extra-base hits on the weekend. Robinson batted .538 in four games against Northern Illinois and Western Michigan, with three home runs and 12 runs batted in. She finished the regular season as the Mid-American Conference leader in RBI with 50.
Miami broke the scoreless tie in the top of the fourth inning, when Alicia Hogl drilled a solo shot over the straight away centerfield wall, giving the RedHawks a 1-0 lead. For Hogl, the home run was her third of the year, placing her second on the MU roster in the category.
With the bases loaded in the top of the fifth inning, Breanna Robinson blew the game open with a bases clearing double to the left centerfield gap, scoring Halle Popson, Meghan Mawn, and Sarah Billstrom on the play.
Freshman Jenna McGivney extended the Miami lead to 5-0, as she reached first on an error by Western Michigan's shortstop, allowing Christine Bills to come home from third.
The Red and White pushed a run across for the fourth-consecutive inning, making the score 6-0, when Billstrom sent a ball sailing over the fence in the same spot as Alicia Hogl's first inning home run. The round tripper was Billstrom's second of the year.
With one out in the seventh inning, WMU catcher Becky Bartosz finally broke Lugo's no-hit bid, giving the Broncos a faint ray of hope. Lugo set down the next two batters in order to finish out her complete game shutout, knocking off Western Michigan, 6-0.
The RedHawks now head to Firestone Field in Akron, Ohio, for the MAC Tournament. Miami's first contest will be at 11 a.m. on Wednesday, as the team will take on the No. 5 seed, Western Michigan.
