IVCC softball has caught fire around campus as the Eagles won their last 8 after returning from their Florida tournament.
The Eagles have been blowing out their competition in large part of their offense which has been on a hitting streak early this season.

“We have been scoring runs up and down our line-up,” said Coach Cory Tomasson. “We have 8 players hitting over .300 right now and one more that is right under.”

Sophomore Taylor Tjaden and freshman Taylor Naumann are the leading eagles in hits, both with 17. For Tjaden, 16 of those hits counted as RBI’s which leads the entire eagle squad.

The Eagles offense has led the way to major victories in the recent double headers against Sauk Valley 7-4, 20-12 and Kishawaukee 11-2, 13-0.

The defensive side of the ball has also been performing well for the Eagles despite the typical unfair climate at the beginning of the season. Led by starting pitcher Tracy Ellis, the Eagles have already produced 3 shutouts.

Ellis has accumulated 18 strikeouts so far and has an ERA of 4.88 in 14 games. “Tracy is a pitcher that gets better the more she pitches, so I am expecting her to improve even more throughout the season,” said Tomasson.

Naumann is the second pitcher in the Eagle’s rotation with 3.25 strike outs a game and an ERA of 5.00. “Naumann has also pitched well. She is not a strike out pitcher; however, she keeps batters off balance and doesn’t walk many,” said Tomasson.
Much like their pitching rotation, the Eagles are winning games by relying on their teammates: a sum of equal parts. “We have had some errors, but the key is to not let them build up and to minimize their effect of the overall game. The players have been pretty good about bouncing right back,” said Tomasson.

The Eagles will put their early success to the test as they are set to face five conference opponents within the next week. Coach Tomasson believes that if his team plays cleanly, that they will win all of their conference games.

“We need to stay focused and not get complacent,” said Tomasson. “I think that the players know their potential at this point, now we just have to consistently execute.”

The Eagle’s next home game will be against Carl Sandburg on Thursday, April 7.