May 8, 2011
Box Score
OMAHA, Neb. -
The Illinois State softball team claimed its first Missouri Valley Conference regular-season championship since 2006 with an 8-1 win over Creighton Sunday afternoon at the Creighton Sports Complex in Omaha, Neb. The Redbirds finished the regular season 35-16 overall and 21-5 in the MVC and will be the top seed in next week's State Farm MVC Softball Championship.
Sophomore Lauren Kellar led the ISU offense going 2-for-5 with a pair of runs scored and two RBI. Junior Caiti Kopp and sophomore Jhavon Hamitlon each recored two hits and drove in a run for the Redbirds.
Junior Jordan Birch tossed a complete game, allowing just one run on three hits to earn the win inside the circle and improve her record to 17-5 on the season. The Monroe, Wash., native recorded 10 strikeouts and issued just two walks, marking the third time this season that Birch has fanned 10 or more opposing hitters.
ISU, who was held scoreless in its first 13 innings against Bluejay pitching Saturday, wasted no time getting on the board in Sunday's rubber match. Illinois State plated a pair of runs on back-to-back, two-out RBI singles by junior Liz Andrews and Kopp to take a 2-0 lead.
Kellar extended the Redbird advantage to 3-0 in the top of the second with an RBI to shallow left. Keller hit a high fly ball to the left side that wind carried over the outstretched glove of Bluejay shortstop Liz McKewon and allowed Hamilton to score from second.
Illinois State got another two-out RBI from Hamilton in the top of the fourth, when her single to center scored Andrews from second and pushed the margin to 4-0 in favor of ISU. Creighton got on the board in the bottom of the frame, trimming the lead to 4-1. McKenna Setlik hit a sacrifice fly to right that allowed Danai Martin to tag and score from third.
The Redbirds took advantage of a pair of Creighton miscues and scored three unearned runs to cap a four-run fifth. Redshirt freshman Nichelle Harrison singled up the middle to score Kopp and later came around to score on a Bluejay error. Kellar drove in senior Kara Nelson with her sixth triple of the season and later scored on Creighton's second error of the inning, giving Illinois State an 8-1 lead.
Neither team would score the rest of the way as Birch retired 11 of the last 12 CU hitters she faced to seal the victory and give ISU the regular-season championship.
The Redbirds will await their opponent for their first tournament game and will play at 11 a.m. Friday in Springfield, Mo.
GoRedbirds.com: Your online source for Illinois State Athletics, tickets, Weisbecker Scholarship Fund gifts, multimedia, Redbird merchandise, photos and more.
