April 16, 2011
EVANSVILLE, Ind. -
Junior pitcher Jordan Birch allowed just one hit and struck out seven to lead the Illinois State softball team to an 8-0, five-inning victory over Evansville Saturday afternoon at Cooper Stadium. The Redbirds (24-13, 10-2 MVC) scored runs in four of five innings on their way to their 10th Missouri Valley Conference win.
ISU took an early 2-0 lead in the top of the first, taking advantage of a pair of walks issued by Evansville starter Taylor Perry. Sophomore Lauren Kellar, who coaxed a walk earlier in the inning, scored on a passed ball and junior Liz Andrews capped the frame with a double to left center that scored sophomore Elizabeth Kay.
Illinois State extended its lead to 5-0 with a three-run third inning. Andrews once again doubled to left center to get the inning started and freshman Laura Canopy delivered an RBI single up the middle to score Kay. Redshirt freshman Sara Bradley pushed another run across with a groundout to the right side and fellow redshirt senior Nichelle Harrison slapped a single to center to score Canopy.
The Purple Aces (9-31, 3-10 MVC) broke up Birch's no-hit bid in the bottom of the third inning, when Jen Stahlhut hit a 2-2 pitch through the right side of the infield for Evansville's only hit in the contest.
The Redbirds tacked on two more runs in the fourth on a two-run home run by Kay and got the necessary eighth run in the top of the fifth from a pair of players that came off the bench. Freshman Kolby Hoffman was called on to pinch run, immediately stealing second and tagging up and advancing to third on a Harrison fly out to shallow right. Sophomore Shelby Music scored Hoffman on a pinch-hit groundout to extend the lead to 8-0.
Birch completed the shutout by retiring the final eight hitters she faced and improved to 11-2 on the season. The shutout was the third of the season for Birch, who now owns a 5-1 record and 1.26 ERA in seven league starts.
The Redbirds and Purple Aces will wrap up the three-game set with a doubleheader Sunday afternoon. The first pitch is scheduled for 11 a.m.
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