April 30, 2011
Box Score
NORMAL, Ill. - Kara Nelson hit her 48th-career double during the first game of Saturday's doubleheader, which makes her the all-time doubles leader in the ISU softball record books. The Illinois State softball team (32-15, 18-4) split the doubleheader with Southern Illinois (33-14, 15-4) at Marian Kneer Stadium in Normal, Ill. The Salukis won the first game, 7-4, while the Redbirds shut out SIU, 6-0, in the second game of the day.
Jordan Birch struck out five in the first game, but took the loss, dropping her record to 15-4. Megan Warner grabbed the win in the second game, tossing a five-hit shutout to improve her record to 13-6. The win was Warner's third shutout of the season.
Nelson led all hitters going 4-for-8 on the day with three runs scored and two runs batted in (RBI), including an inside-the-park home run. Abby Olson was 2-for-4 in the second game with two RBIs from her 50th-career home run. Elizabeth Kay hit a solo home run in the first game of the day. The homer was Kay's 14th home run of the season, which leads the team. Lauren Kellar had a strong bat in the second game, recording three hits.
Game One Recap: Illinois State 4, Southern Illinois 7
Illinois State jumped ahead of Southern Illinois early in the game, as ISU scored one run on two hits in the bottom of the first inning. Nelson led things off for the Redbirds with a standup double to right center field and was driven in by a single up the middle from Liz Andrews to give ISU a one-run lead, 1-0.
The Salukis committed two errors, which allowed a Redbird run to score in the bottom of the third for a two-run advantage. Olson reached on an error by third baseman Natalee Weissinger and moved to second, after Kay was hit by a pitch for the second time in the first game of the day. Laura Canopy singled up the middle and drove in Olson for the second Redbird run of the game.
Kay hit a solo shot over the left field wall, giving ISU a three-run lead through five. However, SIU's bats got hot, as the Salukis scored seven runs in two innings. The streak started with Jayna Spivey's three-run homer over the right center field wall in the top of the sixth to tie the game, 3-3. Southern Illinois continued its strongest offensive inning of the game, as Weissinger singled through the left side to load the bases. With the bases loaded, Warner walked Mallory Duran to push across the fourth Saluki run of the inning giving SIU a one-run lead, 4-3.
Southern Illinois continued to dominate the batter's box in the top of the seventh, as SIU scored three runs on three hits. With runners on first and second, Chelsea Held doubled and advanced to third on a throw. The double drove in two Saluki runs, while Allie VadeBoncouer singled to left field giving SIU a four-run lead, 7-3.
Olson and Kay reached first in back-to-back plate appearances after both were hit by pitches. Kolby Hoffman, who pinch ran for Olson, scored on a single by pinch hitter Caiti Kopp, cutting SIU's lead by one, 7-4. ISU had two runners on the bases, but were not able to add any runs to the scoreboard and fell to SIU, 7-4.
Game Two Recap: Illinois State 6, Southern Illinois 0
The second game of the day began like the first game of the day, as Nelson recorded a lead off hit, but this time the senior second baseman sent an inside-the-park home run down the right field line to the wall. Nelson's speed helped her beat a play at the plate to give ISU a quick 1-0 lead.
Nelson was back to work in the bottom of the second with a RBI single that drove in Nichelle Harrison for a two-run lead, 2-0. The Redbirds left runners on the corners in the bottom of the third to keep the score 2-0 through three.
Olson got her first hit of the day with a two-run homer over the left field wall in the bottom of the fourth. Kay reached on an error and went on to score from first on a triple by Andrews that nearly cleared the outfield wall, but the ball hit the top of the wall to stay in play.
In the bottom of the fifth, Kellar recorded her third hit of the game with a single to right field that scored Jhavon Hamilton, giving ISU a 6-0 lead after five innings.
The Redbirds had the bases loaded in the sixth, but were unable to push any runs across. The Salukis were not able to score any runs in the seventh, ending the game 6-0 in favor of ISU.
Illinois State will return to the field for the final game of the three-game series with Southern Illinois Sunday at noon. Sunday's game is the final home game of the season, and the Redbirds will honor the seniors on both teams.
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