April 5, 2008
Final Stats | Postgame Quotes 
NORMAL, Ill. -
With her team down by a run with two outs in the bottom of the seventh inning, sophomore first baseman Michelle Henderson came up with the biggest hit of her young Redbird softball career, as she drove in the winning runs with a sharply hit single into right field to give the Illinois State softball team (15-14, 5-4 MVC) a 3-2 win over Evansville (18-11, 4-4 MVC) Saturday afternoon in game two of the Redbirds' doubleheader against the Purple Aces.
Down by a run (2-1) with the bases loaded and two outs, Henderson stepped to the plate and roped a single into right field that got past the Evansville right fielder and rolled to the wall, as pinch runners Carly Billings and Vicki Klopf scored the winning runs to push Illinois State above .500 for just the second time this season.
Senior second baseman Tiffany Prager also recorded a notable achievement in the game, as her double into left-center field in the bottom of the seventh inning moved the Bloomington, Ill., native into a tie for 10th place on the Illinois State career doubles list with 30 in her three-plus-year Redbird softball career. Prager is joined in 10th place by former Redbirds Kate Stake (2002-05) and Becky Barrigar (1982-85).
Junior Amber Smith (6-6) picked up her second win on the day, as she pitched 1 2/3 innings in relief of starter Rachel Smith. The former Smith (Amber Smith) allowed only one run on no hits. Junior Rachel Smith pitched a solid 5 2/3 innings, as she allowed only five hits and one earned run, while she walked one Evansville batter.
Evansville had a chance to take the win in the top of the seventh inning of a 1-1 game after it scored a run to go ahead, 2-1, on shortstop Kaprice Willams' team-high eighth error of the season. After the Purple Aces placed a runner on second, Lissa Fehlman hit a ground ball back to Williams that was bobbled and then overthrown to first base, as the Evansville runner on second came around to score the Purple Aces' second run of the game.
Illinois State made its first offensive threat in the bottom of the third. Prager started the offensive rally by earning a walk and then advanced to second base on a sharply hit single into center field by Amber Smith. With two runners on and two outs, junior catcher Casey Gorrell reached base when she was hit by a Jacki Bradley pitch, setting up left fielder Jessie Buker for a prime RBI opportunity with the bases loaded and two outs. Buker was not able to capitalize on the opportunity, however, as she hit a ground ball back to the Evansville shortstop to end the inning with the score tied, 0-0.
In what was increasingly becoming more of a back-and-forth chess match-type of softball game, Illinois State threatened again in the bottom of the fifth inning, as it put runners on first and second with two outs. Senior right fielder Andrea Shifflet led off the inning with her first hit in 13 games when she blooped a single into shallow right field. An intentional walk to Amber Smith with two outs gave way to Gorrell at the plate with two Redbirds on base. Unlike Saturday's first game, Gorrell was unable to produce in the clutch, as she grounded out to shortstop to end the inning.
Evansville countered in the top of the sixth, as the Purple Aces broke the stalemate with a single run. Krista Price started the inning with a double over Shifflet's head in right field and then following a sacrifice bunt by the Purple Aces and an intentional walk to Brittany Herald, the Redbird infield came in tight to take away any possible slow roller that might score a run. The play backfired on the Redbirds, as a sharply hit ground ball by Jennifer Stahlhut back to Prager at second base got past the senior captain, as Evansville took the 1-0 lead.
The chess match continued in Illinois State's half of the sixth inning, as the Redbirds took advantage of a strong wind that was blowing across the field to tie the game at 1-1. After Buker led off the inning with a single and advanced to third base when Williams' fly ball to left field was misplayed by the Evansville left fielder, partially due to the wind, a long sacrifice fly ball by center fielder Katie Mathis put the Redbirds back into the game, as Buker scored on the play.
Illinois State will look to take the series sweep over Evansville when it takes on the Purple Aces in the series finale Sunday. First pitch from the Redbird Softball Complex is set for noon.
