Feb. 8, 2009
TAMPA, Fla. - Niki Stansell tied game with a solo home run and scored the game's winning run in the bottom of the seventh, as the Redbirds walked off with a 2-1 win over North Florida in the last game of the Louisville Slugger Tournament at USF Softball Field Sunday afternoon.
Stansell evened the game up in the third inning with a line-drive home run over the left-field fence and scored from second base in the bottom of the seventh inning after a batted ball by Becca Baltikas rolled past the pitcher and second baseman. Stansell finished the game 1-for-2 with two runs scored and reached two more times on walks. Amber Smith contributed two of Illinois State's four hits and Casey Gorrell collected the other.
Illinois State (2-3) freshman Megan Warner scattered five hits and walked just one batter in her first career start, and worked around the leadoff hitter reaching in four of the seven innings. Warner's biggest escape came in the fifth inning when she gave up a leadoff single and the Ospreys loaded the bases with one out. Warner induced a ground ball to short and Stansell fired home to get the lead runner. Warner then struck out the next batter to end the inning and cruised through the final two frames, facing just one over the minimum.
Warner surrendered multiple hits in the second inning, with the second leading to North Florida's only run.
Illinois State continues its early-season tournament slate when the Redbirds travel to the Littlewood Classic in Tempe, Ariz. (Feb. 13-15). Illinois State begins play against Idaho State and Arizona State on Friday.
