Freshman Melissa Bakers two-out solo home run to left-center in the top of the sixth helped lift Illinois State to a 3-1 victory over Middle Tennessee State and kept the Redbirds alive in NCAA Regional softball action on Friday in Hillenbrand Stadium.
Middle Tennesse St. finished its season with a 39-21 record and its first NCAA tournament appearance while the Redbirds, who are making its third trip to Regionals, improve to 22-32.
Bakers homer broke a 1-1 tie, while Illinois State added an insurance run on Cathy Peverlys RBI single after Jodi Kent hit a two-out double in the seventh. The Redbirds opened the scoring with a run in the top of the second when Jamie Bagnall led off with an infield popup that was lost in the sun and dropped for a single. Bagnall advanced to third on a sacrificie and infield grounder and scored on Abbie Scotts single.
Junior Nicole Kurth was the winning pitcher for the ISU, improving her record to 17-11. She gave up four hits and one run while the Redbirds had eight hits and three runs in the contest. MTSU had two errors on the day.
Illinois State will continue in Regional play Saturday at 5 p.m. Pacific time, against the loser of the Nebraska-South Carolina game, or Arizona if the top-seeded Wildcats lose to Massachusetts.
