Senior
April Schermann 's RBI single in the bottom of the fourth inning broke the one-all tie between Illinois State and Northern Iowa as the Redbirds went on to sweep the Panthers with a 3-1 victory. Sunday. It was Senior Day, at the Redbird Softball Complex.
Bridget Fournie, Nicole Kurth and Schermann participated in their last home contest and the Birds late hitting proved crucial as they topped the Panthers and improved to 29-16, 17-3 in the Valley. Northern Iowa fell to 24-28, 11-12 in the MVC.
Throwing her 20th complete game of the year, Kurth got the start on the mound and shutdown the Panther offense once again, allowing only two hits and one run while striking out six and walking two. The lone run for UNI happened early after a triple by Kristi Johnson in the top of the third inning brought home Lindsay Wood who singled.
One inning later, the Redbirds got their bats going as Katie Shifflet hit a double, her second hit of the day, to left field and then advanced to third on the next out. Jenni Neeley then drove her home after she beat out a single bunt to the shortstop for a base hit RBI.
Tied at one in the bottom of the fifth, Becky McMurtry doubled and advanced to third on a wild pitch before Schermann stepped up and ripped the go-ahead run to left field to score McMurtry and boost the Birds by one.
Shae Wesleys double in the bottom of the sixth got the Redbirds up by two and secured the win as Neeley scored after reaching on a fielders choice.
Six Redbird players got a hit in the game as ISU notched eight total hits in seven inning. Shifflet was 2-for-3 while Neeley was 2-for-3 with one run and one RBI.
On Senior Day, all three ISU seniors honored contributed as Fournie had a single hit in the first inning and Schermann drove one home in the fourth. Kurth notched her 18th victory on the season and 14th win in Valley play.
While Illinois States home season concluded today, it has one more MVC series to play. Next weekend, the Redbirds wrap-up the regular season with three games against Wichita State in Wichita, Kan.
