June, 13, 2008

By Kyle Herm
www.SIUSalukis.com

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ST. ANN, Mo. - Southern Illinois sophomore outfielder Katie Wilson, and senior shortstop Becky Wegmann took on the USA Softball National Team in front of 3,154 fans Thursday night at ABC Park as members of the St. Louis All-Star Team. Team USA prevailed 6-0 to win its 26th straight contest on its KFC Bound for Beijing Tour.

The USA National Team improved to 44-1, and has outscored its opponents 507-23 on its nationwide tour in preparation for the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, China.

Wilson, who started in center field and batted fifth, went 1-for-1 with a single to provide one of only two hits for the St. Louis All-Star Team in the loss against former collegiate standout Monica Abbott.

"I knew we were the underdog coming into the game and had nothing to lose, so I just approached it as a learning experience," Wilson said. "It was a little overwhelming playing in front of such a large crowd, but getting a hit was certainly special."

The Alton, Ill. native had a stellar sophomore season for the Salukis with a .290 batting average, seven doubles, team-high 12 stolen bases and was named the MVC Player of the Week on Feb. 18 and an honorable mention MVC Scholar-Athlete.

Wegmann started at shortstop and batted ninth, and went 0-for-1 with a strikeout in her only at bat on the night. She also recorded an out on a caught pop-up in the bottom of the second.

"Playing against the National Team was a lot of fun, and it was nice to not have as much pressure like during the season," Wegmann said. "It was also great to be on a team again with girls I played with just about every summer since I was 12."

Team USA opened a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the third off senior starter Jen Bruck from the University of Missouri on a bases-loaded RBI groundout by former Stanford Cardinal, Jessica Mendoza.

The USA National Team went on to plate another run in the bottom of the fourth and fifth on a RBI single by former UCLA Bruin Stacey Nuveman, and RBI double by Kelly Kretschman to take a 3-0 lead.

Team USA broke open the relatively close game with three more runs in the bottom of the sixth off Eastern Illinois University pitcher Karen Mache to make the final, 6-0.

Abbott, the youngest member of the National Team who graduated from the University of Tennessee last year, recorded 11 strikeouts in the win to improve to 11-0.

Although Bruck took the loss, the three pitchers for the St. Louis All-Star Team limited the dominant USA offense to only six hits and five runs less than its 11 runs-per-game average.

The St. Louis All-Star Team was made up of college student-athletes from the St. Louis region.

The USA National Team will play 16 more exhibition games before facing Venezuela in its first game of the 2008 Beijing Summer Olympics on Tuesday, August 12 at 11 p.m. CST.