CHICAGO - A season-high four errors led to three unearned runs, as the Illinois State softball team (16-23, 8-4 MVC) dropped the series finale at Loyola (15-22, 6-8 MVC), 3-1, Sunday afternoon in Chicago. Despite the loss, the Redbirds still claimed their fourth-straight league series thanks to two wins on Saturday.
After combining to score 15 runs in Saturday's games, ISU could only muster one run and six hits on Sunday. The Redbirds scored their only run on a Regan Romshek home run, her fifth of the season. Kara Repp was the only ISU player to tally two hits, while Jordan de los Reyes reached base three times and Laura Canopy twice.
In the circle, Romshek (LP, 10-13) threw her second-straight complete game. The sophomore surrendered three unearned runs in 6.0 innings, while striking out four and walking none. Romshek did not allow any earned runs or walks in 13.0 innings pitched in the weekend series.
ISU jumped out to an early lead when Romshek lined one over the fence with two outs in the first inning. The Redbirds would put two more runners on in the frame, before Brittany Gardner (WP, 9-8) got out of the jam.
The Ramblers evened the score with a two-out tally of their own in the bottom half of the first. With two away and nobody on base, Lauren Moore reached on an error by shortstop Brittny Drish. Tarran Shaffer then blooped a single to left that skipped around Kelsey Turczyn and rolled all the way to the wall, scoring Moore and making it 1-1.
Poor ISU defense led to another Loyola run in the second. After Katy LaCivita led off the inning with a double, Olivia Bell laid down a sacrifice bunt. Third baseman Sara Bradley fielded the bunt and threw it wide of the first base bag, which allowed LaCivita to score the Ramblers' second run.
After two scoreless innings, Loyola added an insurance run in the bottom of the fifth. Jessica Balzano led off the inning with a double, and stood at third with two outs two batters later. Brie Pasquale hit a slow grounder to Drish, whose throw to first was dropped by a fully outstretched Canopy. Balzano scampered home in the process to make it 3-1 LUC.
The Redbirds threatened to chip into the deficit in both the sixth and seventh innings. ISU loaded the bases in the sixth with two outs, before Repp worked a 3-2 count and lined out sharply to left field. In the seventh, the Redbirds had runners on first and second with two outs, but de los Reyes flew out to end the game.
ISU next travels to in-state rival Bradley for a doubleheader on Wednesday. Game one is slated to begin at 2 p.m., CST.
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