April 25, 2009
NORMAL, Ill. -
A bloop RBI single by Katie Mathis gave the Redbirds the win in game one, and then back-to-back home runs in game two by Casey Gorrell and Amber Smith propelled the Illinois State softball team (22-22, 10-9 MVC) to a Missouri Valley Conference doubleheader sweep of Northern Iowa (31-20, 12-10 MVC) Saturday afternoon at Marian Kneer Softball Stadium. Illinois State won game one, 4-3, and took the doubleheader sweep with a 7-2 win in game two.
On a day in which Dr. Marian Kneer, for whom the Redbirds' softball facility is now named after, and former Illinois State pitching coach Bill Kennedy were honored, Illinois State played some of its best softball of the season. Redbird pitchers allowed only four walks on the day, while earning complete-game victories in both wins.
Abby Olson and Amber Smith each went 3-for-4 for Illinois State in game two. Smith drove in two of the Redbirds' seven runs scored in the game, while also scoring two runs herself. Kaprice Williams was the big hitter for Illinois State in game one after she went 2-for-2 at the plate with two RBI and a run scored off a home run.
Smith improved to 8-11 in the circle for ISU after she picked up the complete-game victory in game one. The right-hander from Fairfield, Calif., pitched seven complete innings and gave up only three runs (all earned) on six hits.
Megan Warner (4-0) took the win in game two after she surrendered four runs on 10 hits, while striking out two and walking two.
Jen Larson (17-11) gave up four earned runs on just five hits to suffer the loss for UNI in game one. In game two, Melissa Tillett (6-8) struggled with her control in just one full inning of work to take the 7-3 loss for the Panthers.
RECAP: Illinois State 4, Northern Iowa 3 | Box Score
Two, two-out RBI base hits by Illinois State propelled the Redbirds to a 4-3 come-from-behind victory over Northern Iowa in game one. With the Redbirds trailing, 3-2, entering the bottom of the sixth inning, Michelle Henderson hit a two-strike RBI double into right-center field to tie the game. One batter later, Mathis' blooop RBI single into shallow right field produced the game-winning run for Illinois State.
Northern Iowa's Rachel Gerking took little time to give the Panthers an early 1-0 lead. The left-hander took the first pitch she saw from Smith in the top of the second inning and belted it over the left field fence for an opposite-field home run.
Two innings later, Larsen and Gerking padded the UNI lead when they hit back-to-back solo home runs over the center field fence to give the Panthers a 3-0 lead. Gerking's second home run of the game was her 11th of the season - one shy of the Northern Iowa team lead.
Larsen maintained her pitching dominance over Illinois State until the bottom of the fifth inning. After allowing a leadoff walk to Mathis, Larsen dished up a deep two-run home run over the left-center field fence to Williams, as the Panthers' lead was cut down to just one run at 3-2.
RECAP: Illinois State 7, Northern Iowa 4 | Box Score
Just as it did in the previous game, Northern Iowa wasted little time getting on the board in game two. After leadoff batter Megan Machovec reached on a single up the middle, a passed ball by catcher Casey Gorrell put Machovec in scoring position. Two batters later, Gerking's RBI single through the right side of the infield scored Machovec and gave the Panthers a 1-0 lead.
Illinois State fired right back in its half of the first inning. After the Redbirds loaded the bases on a hit batter, a walk and a single, another walk to Jessie Buker gave ISU its first run of the game. Henderson then bloooped an RBI single into left field, before Mathis drove in her second run of the day on a sacrifice fly ball to right field that scored Olson.
Illinois State opened the game wide open in the bottom of the sixth inning with back-to-back home runs by Gorrell and Smith. Gorrell's home run was a two-run shot, while Smith's was a solo effort, as the Redbirds pulled away with a 7-2 lead. The back-to-back home-run effort by Gorrell and Smith marked the second time Illinois State has accomplished that feat this season; Smith and Olson hit back-to-back home runs at Drake April 11.
The top of the seventh inning featured an interesting series of events for Northern Iowa. After the Panthers placed two runners on base, Gerking hit what should have been a three-run home run for UNI. After rounding first base, she passed Larsen, who was advancing to second base, and Gerking was subsequently ruled out on the play for passing a base runner ahead of her. Both UNI runners already on base were allowed to score, while Gerking was credited with a two-run single.
Illinois State will go for its first three-game Missouri Valley Conference series sweep of the season at noon Sunday when it takes on UNI in the series finale at Marian Kneer Softball Stadium.
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