Feb. 28, 2009
Box Score
COLUMBUS, Ga. -
One day after a strong seven-inning pitching performance in a 4-1 over Long Island, senior pitcher Amber Smith found herself in a pair of tough innings that led to a 5-0 loss for the Illinois State softball team (6-7) against No. 20/24 Ohio State (15-3) Saturday night at the NFCA Leadoff Classic at the South Commons Stadium & Complex in Columbus, Ga.
The game came after a long day of rain delays and tornado warnings for the Redbirds. Illinois State spent parts of the morning in the lobby of its hotel as tornado sirens wailed outside. Some five inches of rain fell in the area overnight, in addition to strong winds, causing the tournament schedule to be retooled.
Unfortunately for the Redbirds, the long delay between Friday's and Saturday's games may have cost Illinois State a shot at defeating a nationally-ranked foe, something ISU is still searching to do, as the Redbirds dropped to 0-2 on the year against ranked opponents.
Ohio State scored all the runs it needed in the win in the bottom of the second inning. A leadoff solo home runs by Courtney Pruner started the offense for the Buckeyes, and then an Ohio State single and a fielder's choice put two more Buckeye runners on base. After Rebecca Shultz reached on an error by Redbird shortstop Niki Stansell, a single up the middle scored another Ohio State run, which could have been two runs scored had centerfielder Katie Mathis not thrown out the Buckeyes' trailing runner at the plate to end the inning.
Ohio State stretched its lead to five runs in the bottom of the third inning. A double down the right field line by Tory Haddad scored all three base runners for Ohio State and effectively put the game out of reach for the Redbirds.
Smith dropped to 2-4 on the season after pitching 4 2/3 innings and allowing five runs (four earned) on six hits, four walks and two strikeouts.
Smith was the only Illinois State batter to record multiple hits in the game, as she went 2-for-4 at the plate with a pair of singles.
Illinois State will return to action at 9 a.m. CT Sunday against Hofstra. The Redbirds were originally scheduled to play Virginia Tech in the tournament finale, but Virginia Tech decided not to finish out the tournament after Saturday's heavy rains.
GoRedbirds.com: Your online source for Illinois State Athletics, tickets, TRC gifts, multimedia, Redbird merchandise, photos and more.
