Cutie Taylor hit her eighth home run of the year, Dominique Borba hit her first solo shot and Audra Rast hurled her 12th straight victory in game one of Illinois States doubleheader with Evansville,4-1. The Aces bounced back in game two dealing the Redbirds their second conference loss, 6-2.
Illinois State, now 19-13, 12-2 in the MVC, had four runs off of four hits in the first matchup on Saturday, rolling over the Aces, who currently sit in second place behind the Redbirds in Valley standings.
The Birds could not find a hit until the fourth inning when Taylor stepped to the plate drilling a two-run homer off of Ace pitcher freshman Katie Markle. In the following inning, Borba drove her first solo shot of the season well beyond the left field wall to put the Birds up, 3-1. Illinois State scored its final run in the bottom of the sixth off of a Taylor single to right field scoring Shae Wesley.
Rast gunned eight strikeouts and gave up only five hits to the Aces improving her record to 14-2 overall, 9-0 in conference action. Markle took the loss for Evansville.
In game two, the Redbirds collected seven hits off of freshman hurler Casey Clutch, but couldnt find the gaps to keep them in the game. Corey Harris and Krystal Gary gave up 10 hits to the Aces, including two home runs and three doubles. Harris (4-8) took the loss for Illinois State.
Harris managed to lead the Birds in hitting during the second game, going 3 for 4 at the plate.
The teams will battle again on Sunday, April 14, at noon at the Redbird Softball Complex.
