Oct. 4, 2009
Box Score
NORMAL, Ill. -
Day Two Results 
Despite the suspension of play on day one, the second annual State Farm Illinois Collegiate Softball Championship concluded Sunday at Champion Fields with pool play. The tournament featured 10 of the 12 NCAA Division I softball teams in the State of Illinois, along with Heartland Community College and Lake Land College. Due to weather, bracket play as cancelled.
The event was officially hosted by the Bloomington-Normal Area Sports Commission, Town of Normal Parks and Recreation Department and Illinois State Athletics, with State Farm Insurance serving as the official title sponsor.
"I think this is a great tournament," said head coach Melinda Fischer. "It is a great venue to showcase very strong teams in Illinois. I appreciate the Town of Normal and Sports Commission for helping us to put this tournament on. The weather was unfortunate Saturday. It would have been nice to see how this would have played out."
Pool A saw Bradley hand Lake Land a 12-3 defeat in game one, while Lake Land also fell in game two to DePaul, 5-0. DePaul went undefeated in Pool A, winning over Bradley, 9-1, in game three.
Action in Pool B saw tournament co-host Illinois State go 2-0 on the day, while Illinois opened up Pool B play with a 10-3 win over Northern Illinois in game one. In game two, Illinois State opened its tournament play with a 12-0 shutout, run-rule victory over Northern Illinois. In game three, the Redbirds came for behind, scoring six runs in the last inning to beat the Illini, 6-5.
SIU-Edwardsville defeated Heartland, 3-2, to start Pool C play. In another run-rule game, Heartland lost its second game of the day to Illinois-Chicago, 11-2. SIU-Edwardsville remained undefeated in the tournament after defeating Illinois-Chicago, 1-0, in game three.
Pool D began with a 2-1 win by SIU-Carbondale over Eastern Illinois, while Western Illinois defeated Eastern Illinois in game two, 5-4. SIU-Carbondale also finished the tournament undefeated, besting Western Illinois, 5-0 in game three.
ILLINOIS STATE GAME RECAPS
Game 1- Illinois State 12, Northern Illinois 0
The Illinois State softball team won its sixth-straight fall game as it opened the State Farm Illinois Collegiate Softball Championship with a shutout, run-rule victory over Northern Illinois, 12-0, Sunday at Champion Fields. The Redbirds recorded 12 runs on 10 hits in the five innings.
"I think we played very well in this game," said Fischer. "We had strong offense, defense and great pitching. We put together a total ballgame with a lot of back-to-back hits. I was excited to see that everyone contributed."
Niki Stansell started the Redbirds' offensive machine with a sacrifice fly ball, driving in Lauren Kellar for a 1-0 lead in the first inning.
In the second inning, the Redbirds scored four runs including a two-run base hit by Kara Nelson. Beth Current also drove in one run after a hit by Shelby Music and a walk by Carly Billings. Stansell drove in the Redbirds' fifth run of the game with a double.
The Redbirds continued right where they left off in the third inning, scoring four more runs on just one hit. Northern Illinois's pitcher Monica Segura walked two batters with bases loaded, bringing in two Redbird runs. Kellar also brought in two runs on a base hit to extend the Redbirds' lead 9-0 after three.
Billings started off the fifth inning for ISU with a double and came home to score after a hit by Nelson. Abby Olson sealed the win for the Redbirds, bringing in two runs on one hit.
Megan Warner played all five innings in the circle for the Redbirds, recording one walk and two strikeouts.
Game 2- Illinois State 6, Illinois 5
The Illinois State softball team went undefeated on the day and remained undefeated on the fall season after a game-winning home run by Abby Olson in the bottom of the seventh inning to win 6-5 over Illinois at the State Farm Illinois Collegiate Softball Championship at Champion Fields Sunday.
The Redbird offense came alive in bottom of the seventh inning, where the Redbirds rallied back to score six runs to take the win over Illinois. Kara Nelson started the scoring rally with a double to bring in two runs. Next, Niki Stansell doubled to bring in two more runs. Then, Stansell came around from second to score on an Illinois error. Olson ended the game with a solo homerun to end the game.
"I thought we got a little timid when you got down in the beginning," said Fischer. "Jordan did well the second inning on. After the first inning, I think we lost some fundamentals on defense. We let Illinois control us. However, we started to get some confidence and put some at bats together at the end. We definitely stayed very patience."
The Illini started the game with a 3-0 lead over the Redbirds in the first inning after a two-run homerun by Hope Howell and a RBI by Audrey Gallien.
Illinois extended its lead in the third inning to 4-0 with a double by Pinchback to drive in Howell.
The Redbirds saw their first hit of the game in the bottom of the fourth by Nichelle Harrison.
After five innings, the Redbirds were down 5-0 after four Illini got hits to bring in one addition run. With bases loaded, Jordan Birch ended the inning with a strikeout.
Birch pitched five innings for the Redbirds, striking out six with no walks.
Chrissy Burton closed out the game in the circle for the Redbirds, striking out two with no walks.
The Redbirds will conclude their fall schedule Sunday (Oct. 11) with a friends and family game at 1 p.m. at Marian Kneer Stadium.
