May 2, 2006

Lawrence fans 27 to tie mark

By SCOTT DAVIDSON
Tribune Staff Writer

Jackie Lawrence has had plenty of dazzling days in the circle.

The Culver Academy star though has never had one quite like Saturday.

The senior hurler tied a state record with 27 strikeouts in the second game of a doubleheader versus Mishawaka at Twin Branch Park. Ironically enough, the mark came in the Eagles first loss of the season, a 3-2 setback in 14 innings to the Cavemen.

Lawrence put together some kind of day in the twinbill. The right-hander, who features every pitch in her vast arsenal, fanned 39 in 21 innings of work for her 15-1 squad. She posted a 1-0 win in game one.

"The remarkable thing to me about Jackie Saturday was her stamina,'' said Mishawaka coach Bob Egyhazi. "It was unbelievable. She was throwing as hard in inning 14 of the second game as she did in the first inning of the first game. And the movement on her pitches was amazing.''

Lawrence took some incredible stats into Saturday's twinbill. The Tulsa recruit was 14-0 with a 0.33 ERA. She had allowed five runs in 86 innings with 176 strikeouts. Lawrence has registered every pitching decision for the Eagles the past four years, going 86-12 in that time.

The Eagles, No. 5 in Class 3-A, are also getting another banner season from Alexia Clay. The senior catcher and Tennessee recruit was hitting .615 with seven homers and 27 RBIs prior to Saturday's doubleheader. The All-American entered this season with a state record 28 homers.

Lawrence's effort tied the state mark set by Darcy Wood of Center Grove. Wood fanned 27 batters in a 1-0, 11-inning win over Brownsburg in 2004. Former Mishawaka star Claire DeVreese, now playing at Illinois, had 26 strikeouts in a 1-0, 11-inning win at Elkhart Memorial in 2003.

The Cavemen win in game two was big for the hosts. Mishawaka had lost three in a row and four of five coming into the twinbill and was in the midst of a brutal part of their schedule with 10 games in 10 days.

"That was a great team win for us,'' said Egyhazi. "It was one we needed. Everyone contributed. Janessa DeWitt did a phenomenal job pitching for us.''Mishawaka standout Kelsey Egyhazi is closing in on the school record for hits. The senior was unable to pitch Saturday due to a bruised lower leg suffered Thursday when she was hit by a liner in game one of a twinbill at Dowagiac. Egyhazi, who was ranked among the state leaders with a .571 batting average through the first 10 games, did play first base Saturday