t was the battle of the undefeated and the Illinois State softball team swept Wichita State to remain undefeated at the top of the Valley with nine wins and zero losses in conference play.
Head coach
Melinda Fischer felt great after the weekend of exciting Valley action.
It was some awesome softball, said Fischer. We battled hard all weekend. We showed a lot of character and it showed me a lot about this team. We really stepped it up after the two losses to Iowa.
The Shockers were first to score in the top of the third with a solo homer by Julie Darling, but the Redbirds came back with a vengeance by scoring five runs on five hits.
Lauren Bierwirth led off with a single down the left field line. Randi Patton struck out, but Bierwirth advanced on a pass ball. Tricia Gaither reached first base on a walk. Abbie Scott hit a single to right field and advanced Bierwirth and Gaither. Dominque Borba stepped up and smacked a single to right field and advanced to second, driving home Bierwirth and Gaither, and advancing Scott to third. Melissa Baker came to the plate and hit a single but advanced to second to drive home Borba and Scott. Emily Krueger got the second Redbird out as she grounded out to shortstop, as Baker advanced to third. Kate Stake continued the Redbird hitting streak with a single to right field to bring home Baker. Katie Shifflet ended the inning with an out.
Scott continued her hitting streak with a double in the bottom of the fourth to drive home Gaither from second. Borba stepped up and hit a solid single to center field and advanced to second on the throw, to bring home Scott for the 7-1 Redbird lead. Krueger flew out to center field, leaving Borba and Baker on base at the end of the inning.
The Redbirds held the Shockers for the remaining three innings and pulled off the 7-1 victory. Redbird pitcher Audra Rast hurled a season-high 12 strikeouts on her way to pulling off her ninth win of the season.
Action in the second game of the doubleheader began in the bottom of the first inning, as the Shockers were first to score off a base hit. Once again the Redbirds answered.
Krueger led off for the Birds with a double to center field. Carly Weinstein entered the game to pinch run for Krueger and was advanced to second on a Stake single. Shifflet drilled a single up the middle to drive home Weinstein and advance Stake to second. Bierwirth was out on a sacrifice bunt, advancing Stake and Shifflet. Patton hit a sacrifice fly to right field and brought home Stake before Gaither struck out to end the inning. Illinois State took the 2-1 lead in the top of the second inning. With Kruegers double and Shifflets single, each Redbird got at least one hit in the days doubleheader.
Wichita State scored one run on three hits in the bottom of the third to tie it up at 2-2. Once again the Redbirds answered the Shockers single run with three runs of their own.
With bases loaded in the top of the fourth, Gaither hit a single to center field to drive home Bierwirth and Shifflet. Scott drilled another single to center field to bring home Patton for the third run of the inning, increasing the Illinois State lead to 5-2.
Wichita State made a comeback of its own by scoring two runs in the bottom of fourth inning, bringing the score to 5-4, Illinois State.
Illinois State relief pitcher Sheila Emms and the Redbirds held the Shockers scoreless in the bottom of the sixth inning with bases loaded and one out as Emms hurled two strikeouts to close-out the inning. The Redbirds held the lead at 5-4 as they opened the seventh inning with a base hit by Baker, but were unable to capitalize.
Wichita States Darling hit her second solo homer of the day to lead off the Shockers in the bottom of the seventh and tie Illinois State at 5-5, and forcing the game into extra innings.
The Redbirds made the most of the opportunity in the top of the eighth as Bierwirth led off with a single. Patton hit a sacrifice bunt to advance Bierwirth. Gaither hit a single and advanced to second on the throw, as Bierwirth advanced to third. Shocker pitcher Lindsey Lang intentionally walked Scott to load the bases. Bierwirth came home as Borba reached first on a Shocker error in right field. Baker hit a single and advanced to second on the throw to drive home Scott and Gaither before Wichita State retired the Redbirds with a double play. Illinois State took the lead once again, 8-5.
In the bottom of the eighth, Redbird pitcher Emms struck out the first Shocker batter, before allowing a homerun to Audry Walters. Redbird Audra Rast replaced Emms in the circle, and Illinois State got the second out as Jody Lupo grounded out to short stop. Rast hurled a strikeout to get the third out, and Illinois State swept the Shockers with the 8-6 win in the third game of the series. Emms picked up her first win of the season and improved her record to 1-3.
Both teams hit well today. It was a batters game, not a pitchers, commented Fischer. Our hitting definitely made the difference in the second ball game. We got down, but we came back strong and got our bats going.
The Redbirds are 16-15 overall and 9-0 in the Valley. Illinois State will return to action Wednesday, April 2, at the Redbird Softball Complex as the Birds face Valley opponent Indiana State for a 2 p.m. doubleheader.
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