Head coach
Melinda Fischer and the Illinois State softball team will finish competition on Sunday at 10:30 a.m. as they face Kentucky in the consolation game of the Fun and Sun Classic in Miami, Fla.
The Redbirds failed to qualify for the championship game against No. 17 Georgia after losing to tournament host, Florida International, 7-3. Georgia beat Kentucky, 5-2, to face FIU in the championship game at 1 p.m.
The Redbirds came out strong in the first inning as senior pitcher Audra Rast combined with third baseman Tricia Gaither for the strikeout, groundout and strikeout. The Birds then turned around to score the first run of the game.
Gaither reached first base on a walk and advanced to second on a sacrifice bunt by Dominique Borba. Kate Stake then hit a single to advance Gaither to third, who scored on the next play due to a fielders choice play.
Fischer was pleased with the Birds quick start, but said the team had a hard time offensively.
I think the younger players showed some impressive playmaking, and as a team we made some good defensive stops, said Fischer. We got off to a great start, but we had one bad inning and never truly refocused.
Illinois State held the lead at 1-0 until the fourth inning, when FIU scored five runs off Rast.
Freshman pitcher Sheila Emms replaced Rast at the top of the fifth, and walked FIUs Stephanie Wolter. Wolter then scored on a home run by teammate Marleah Stapf, to put the Golden Panthers up 7-1.
The Redbirds came back and scored to more runs by Gaither and Borba, but that was not enough to overcome FIU.
The tournament began with a round robin format, before seeding the teams. Georgia (4-0) is the No. 1 seed, followed by FIU (2-2), and ISU (1-3). Kentucky (1-3) rounded out the group at No. 4.
Illinois State enters the final day of the tournament with an overall record of 1-3.
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