April 15, 2007
Box Score
DES MOINES, Iowa -
For the second straight day, it was an RBI from sophomore Kaprice Williams that gave the No. 19 Illinois State softball team a one-run victory, 5-4, over Drake in Missouri Valley Conference softball action in Des Moines, Iowa. Williams' RBI single in the bottom of the sixth inning gave the Redbirds the come-from-behind win and secured the series sweep over the Bulldogs.
ISU improves to 36-9 overall, 13-4 in Valley play, while Drake falls to 12-29 and 2-11 in the conference. Redbird head coach Melinda Fischer was pleased with the early offensive output from her team and the timely hit from Williams.
"Kaprice put that one in front of the centerfielder and we scored that other run to win the game. I was happy to see that from her and it was consistent with what she did for us yesterday in the second game," said Fischer. "We started off very strong against Drake and that was a goal of ours, to score early and often. We were able to score early but not often. But I was glad to see that comeback."
Kelsey Warning picked up where she left off yesterday, smacking a first inning home run to put the `Birds up, 2-0. Warning took her first pitch over the left field wall, her third homer of the weekend and 23rd for her Redbird career, as the senior right fielder moved into a tie for third place on the ISU career home runs list. The two-run shot plated Kara Nelson, who opened the frame with a single to Drake shortstop Lindsay Larry, and gave Warning 47 RBI on the season, putting her in sole possession of third place on the Illinois State single season RBI charts.
Tiffany Prager extended the Redbird lead in the top of the fifth, blasting an RBI double into deep right center field. Nelson charged around the bases after reaching on a fielder's choice to Larry and crossed to put the `Birds up, 3-0. Prager advanced to third on a Jessie Buker single hit hard to third base but the two were stranded on base on a Warning fly out to right field for the third out of the inning that ended ISU's opportunity to add extra runs.
Drake answered with two outs in the bottom of the fifth. Jaci Faidley hit a single through the left side of the infield to open the inning and crossed when pitcher Cassie Heller reached on an error by first baseman Amber Smith. Heller hit a routine grounder to Redbird shortstop Williams but Smith pulled her foot off the bag on the throw to first. Larry joined Heller on the bases, hitting a single to center field. Bulldog right fielder Jenna Wilkin then smacked a two RBI double to center field that tied the game at 3-3 and advanced to third on the throw to the plate. Susan Slycord also collected an RBI when she launched a single to left field that put Drake up by a run, 4-3. Each of the Bulldogs' four runs were unearned, as Stacy Birk came in to pitch to a pair of batters, taking over for Shannon Nicholson, in the middle of the inning.
But the lead didn't last long as Smith made up for her costly error in the last inning by blasting a full-count home run into center field, knotting the score at four. The long ball was the 11th of the year for the sophomore ISU career home runs leader and pushed the team's total to 65 on the year, just two shy of the MVC mark for single season home runs. Smith turned in a perfect 3-for-3 effort for the day. Birk continued ISU's hot hitting with a double to left center field and moved to third when catcher Casey Gorrell reached on a fielding error by shortstop Larry. Williams then tallied her first hit of the day, an RBI single that dropped into shallow center field as Birk scored, giving Illinois State a 5-4 advantage that held for the final score.
Nicholson earned the win, giving up five hits and striking out three in seven full innings. The right-handed senior improves to 15-4 in 2007.
"I thought Shannon pitched well today," said Fischer. "She struggled a little bit in that fifth inning when they scored those three runs. That certainly wasn't her fault because of some errors that inning. We brought Stacy in to shake things up a little bit but Shannon stayed warm, came back in and did a good job."
The Redbirds return to action on Tuesday, April 17, taking on the Illinois Fighting Illini for the third time this season. First pitch is scheduled for 6 p.m. from Eichelberger Field in Champaign, Ill.
