The Journal

Issue date: 4/19/07 Section: Sports

Media Credit: Jeff Curry Sophomore outfielder Mandy Van Velkinburgh waits in the on deck circle April 10 game vs Blackburn College.

The Webster University softball team isn't used to dealing with curveballs. But Mother Nature threw a vicious one at the team in the form of bad weather. Now that the weather has passed, the softball team's schedule can get back on track.


With an overall record of 12-15 and a St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference record of 6-0, the Gorloks are doing just fine Head Coach Brett Swip said.


The first SLIAC games were scheduled against Fontbonne University April 3, but because of rain on both the original game day and the rescheduled game day, the Gorloks have yet to play the Griffins.


Instead, the first SLIAC games were against Westminster College and Lincoln Christian College. The Gorloks won all four games, putting their record at 4-0.


On April 6 the Gorloks were scheduled to play a doubleheader against Illinois Wesleyan University. The Gorloks lost the first game 9-0. But, again, due to cold weather the second game was canceled.


In the April 9 home games against Lincoln Christian, junior Gail Vogt pitched a no-hitter. The final score was 20-0.


"The team stayed focused and played well," Swip said.


During the second game, the Gorloks' bats didn't cool off. The Gorloks continued pounding the Angels with a 26-3 win.


"Lincoln Christian is new to the conference," Swip said. "We had good offense during the second game but fell asleep during the third and fourth inning. We cleaned up at the end."


The softball team played a doubleheader against Blackburn College next, where it won both games and put its SLIAC record at 6-0.


The Gorloks traveled to Illinois Wesleyan University for a tournament April 14 and 15.


The Gorloks lost the first three games of the tournament. Hope College beat the Gorloks 9-6 and the University of Chicago held off the Gorloks with a 10-9 win.


"We could have beat Chicago in either game," senior co-captain Kelli Dean said. "We went into extra innings for both games."


Chicago knocked off the Gorloks again with a 6-4 win. After three straight losses, the Gorloks came back with a 4-2 win against Illinois Wesleyan University.


"The conference was good," Dean said. "We played against nationally ranked teams and competed well as a team."


Vogt was named the SLIAC Hitter of the Week for the week of April 9 through 15. She finished with a .620 batting average, 19 RBIs and four home runs that included a two-run walk off home run against Illinois Wesleyan.


The Gorloks have a doubleheader at home April 19 against the MacMurray College Highlanders. The Highlanders' overall record is 7-13 and 2-4 in the SLIAC.


"We have a chance to improve on the SLIAC record and stay in first place," Swip said. "The team is doing well, but we need to improve on some aspects of our game if we want to take the conference championship and play in the NCAA tournament."

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