Tricia Gaither had a leadoff double in the first inning of Illinois States first game of the day, and she and the Redbird softball team kept it going by pounding out 12 and 11 hits, respectively, in wins over Western Kentucky and Wright State. The Birds (12-4) defeated WKU, 8-1 and shut out Wright State, 8-0, in five innings.
Kate Stake followed Gaither with an RBI single in the first inning. Stake then advanced to third on an error by the catcher, and scored when Jen Wright doubled to give ISU a 2-0 lead.
Western Kentucky got on the board in the bottom of the third when Alana Towns homered to centerfield for the Hilltoppers only run of the game.
Illinois State added a run in the fourth on another hit by Wright. The Redbirds then tacked on five more in the fifth on six hits. Randi Patton got the rally started with a single to right field. Lauren Bierwirth then reached on a fielders choice bunt. Katie Guilbault singled to the shortstop to put runners on first and second, while Mandy Garner followed with an RBI single and Gaither plated two more with another single. With Gaither on second, Stake singled to put runners on the corners, before the pair successfully executed the double steal to make it 7-1. Then with two outs, Wright singled up the middle as Stake crossed the plate for the final score.
Wright led the Redbird offense by going three-for-four with three RBI. Gaither, Stake, Patton and Guilbault each had two hits. Pitcher Stacy Birk (5-0) earned the win, striking out eight and surrendering seven hits.
Once again it was Gaither with Illinois States first run in the second game of the day, a match-up with Wright State. Gaither led off the third inning with a single to right field. Stake sacrificed her over to second, before Dominique Borba doubled to centerfield to drive in the run.
The Birds then utilized a seven-run fifth inning to put the game away. Gaither got the Redbird bats going with a triple to left center. Stake followed with a single to left, driving in Gaither. Stake advanced to second on a sacrifice bunt, and went to third on a wild pitch. With two outs, Patton plated Stake on another single to left field.
After a pitching change midway through the fifth frame, Bierwirth singled through the left side to put Redbirds on first and second. Guilbault then loaded the bases by reaching on an error. Freshman RaeAnn Ewen followed with a single to short, allowing two runs to score. The hit was the first of Ewens collegiate career. Jackie Williams then drove in a run with a single to left field. Gaither also finished the scoring with a two-out two-run triple, her second of the inning, to end the game in the bottom of the fifth as the run-rule was invoked.
Gaither, who had two triples in one inning against WSU, went three-for-four with two RBI and two runs scored, while Bierwirth was two-for-two. Pitcher Shannon Nicholson (7-4) tossed the first no hitter of her career in picking up the win. She struck out five and walked four.
We really got our bats going today, head coach
Melinda Fischer said. Those are two quality wins. We had good pitching, sound defense and strong at bats. Tricia (Gaither) hit really well, and Jen (Wright) also had a great day with a double in each game. We were able to do a lot of damage with two out, and that was good to see, but the last game was kind of different. They put the ball in play but we were able to make the stops we needed, and Shannon really pitched a good game.
Sunday, the Birds take on Belmont at 10 a.m. before playing in the championship game at 4 p.m.
