No. 6 seed Northern Iowa looked poised to end Illinois States hopes of a third straight Valley Tournament title heading into the seventh inning with a 2-0 lead, but a fielding error by UNI shortstop Claudia Sandoval with one one and the bases loaded tied the game at 2-2. An RBI single by Kate Stake in the eighth inning proved to be the game-winner as the Redbirds advance with a 3-2 victory and also hand the Panthers their first loss in the 2002 Missouri Valley Conference Softball Tournament. Illinois State will play Friday at 8 p.m. against the winner of the Creighton-Evansville match-up, while UNI takes on the loser at 5:30 p.m.
With two outs, Cutie Taylor again came through with a key hit in the top of inning eight providing a baserunner for Stake, the Redbird second baseman, to knock in. Taylor is now 8-for-11 in the tournament with one home run. The senior outfielder complimented pitcher Audra Rast and her younger teammates on their fight and will-power on the field.
This is probably the best group of freshman I have played with, said Taylor. They work hard at everything they do and Audra is pitching unbelievably. I have a ton of confidence in her and know that she will get the job done.
After hurling 10 innings in the Southern Illinois game on Friday, Rast earned her 24th win of the season against the Panthers, striking out nine batters.
The Redbirds tallied only four hits against Northern Iowa pitcher Julie Phillips, but took advantage of Panther mistakes using them as opportunity to score. Contributions at the plate by senior Shae Wesley, who found her second hit of the tourney, and junior Corey Harris helped the Birds to score their final inning runs.
This team has a ton of heart and we really dug deep, said Harris. We really battled right to the end. Everyone knew we could do it, it was just a matter of one person getting on base and then it becoming contagious.
Head coach
Melinda Fischer agreed with Harris on the win repeating her earlier quote that the Birds still need to take each game one game at a time.
That was an exciting game, said head coach
Melinda Fischer of the 3-2 win. I was proud of our kids. They never say die, never quit, and never give up.
