The Forester softball team had its 2010 season come to an end Sunday (May 9) at the Midwest Conference Championship Tournament. Lake Forest defeated Monmouth College 10-0 in five innings in an elimination game to start the day. The Foresters then fell 3-2 to St. Norbert College in the championship.

Lake Forest finished the season with a record of 24-14-1. Monmouth completed the year at 14-22 and St. Norbert, which claimed its second straight league title, advances to the NCAA Tournament at 30-6.

The Foresters wasted no time taking a large lead against Monmouth. Freshman second baseman Megan Harkins (Homewood, Ill./Homewood-Flossmoor) started an eight-run rally in the top of the first inning by singling past the third baseman. She stole second and scored the first run on a base hit by sophomore right fielder/catcher Danielle Gore (Arlington Heights, Ill./Hersey). Senior third baseman Mallory Norton (Chicago, Ill./Resurrection) also singled and freshman designated player Nikki Miller (Starkville, Miss./Starkville Academy) bunted in Gore with the home team's second run. After a walk and a strikeout, senior first baseman Shelby Neill (Manitou Beach, Mich./Lenawee Christian) plated three on a double to left field. After a hit batsman, Harkins belted her first career home run to make the score 8-0.

Norton and Miller singled to start the second inning and advanced a base on a wild pitch. Seniro catcher Jill Pfund's (Morenci, Mich./Morenci) RBI-groundout scored Norton and Miller came home on a base hit by Neill, giving the Foresters a 10-0 advantage.

Freshman Jordan Ratliff (Petersburg, Mich./Summerfield) pitched the first two scoreless innings and sophomore Cami Daun (Sheboygan, Wis./Sheboygan North) the last three for her third victory (without a loss) on the year. They each struck out three batters and allowed a combined three base hits and two walks in the contest.

The victory was the 200th in Lake Forest head coach Joe Kinsella's 11th year as a collegiate head coach.

Needing to defeat St. Norbert twice to claim the conference title, the Foresters fell behind by a run in the second inning but tied the game with one in the bottom of the third. Pfund led off the frame with a double, advanced to third on a sacrifice bunt, and scored on a base hit by Harkins.

Lake Forest took the lead in the fourth. Senior left fielder Jeannette Andresen (Woodridge, Ill./Downers Grove South) singled up the middle with two outs and came all the way around to score on another double by Pfund.

The green Knights tied the game with a run in the fifth inning and took the lead with another in the sixth.

The Foresters had one baserunner in the sixth and two in the seventh but were unable to tie the game.

Andresen, Neill, Norton, Pfund, Pinsonneault, and shortstop Tracy Rainey (Roselle, Ill./Lake Park) graduate after combining for 685 hits, including 149 doubles and 69 home runs, 440 runs scored and 464 driven in, 1,069 total bases, and a batting average of .334 over the last four years.