NORMAL, Ill. - With two outs in the bottom of the fourth, Regan Romshek sent a grand slam over the center field wall for four runs batted in and led the Redbirds to a 6-3 victory over Bradley Tuesday evening at Marian Kneer Stadium. With the win, the Redbirds won the three-game series over the Braves, 2-1.
Not only did she perform in the batter's box, but Romshek also got it done in the circle, as she pitched seven innings, striking out eight Bradley batters and issued one walk. Romshek allowed seven hits and two earned runs in the win.
Laura Canopy, who didn't have any official at bats, after walking once and getting hit by a pitch three times, scored two runs for ISU, while Nichelle Harrison, Kelsey Turczyn and Annie Heineman also crossed home plate, along with Romshek. ISU collected four hits in the game, as Jordan de los Reyes, Kara Repp and Heineman joined Romshek in the hit column.
Both teams were able to get base runners, but struggled to push any runs across in the first three innings of the game, as ISU left five runners stranded and BU couldn't move three. Though both teams had base runners, the Redbirds had only one hit, getting their runners off of walks, an error and hit by pitch, while the Braves had three hits.
Then, Bradley got on the board first in the top of the fourth with a solo homer by Marina Groenewegen for the one-run advantage. After the leadoff home run, Illinois State retired the next three BU batters, as Brittny Drish had back-to-back plays at shortstop to end the inning.
After a Redbird error put a Bradley runner on first in the top of the sixth, Groenewegen stepped into the batter's box and sent a two-run homerun over the left centerfield wall to cut Illinois State's lead to two, 5-3, for her second homer of the game. Romshek worked out of the jam, striking out two-straight Bradley batters.Illinois State continued to get base runners, as ISU quickly loaded the bases with one out in the bottom of the fourth. However, this time ISU was also able to convert the base runners into runs in its half of the inning. Heineman singled to score Turczyn from second off of a Bradley error. With runners in scoring position, Canopy was hit by a pitch for the second time in the game to load the bases. With two outs and the bases loaded, Romshek helped herself and sent a grand slam over the center field wall, giving the Redbirds a 5-1 lead after four innings.
Illinois State added an insurance run to its side of the score board in the bottom of the sixth, as Canopy reached base, after being hit by a pitch in her third-straight at bat. Canopy quickly moved to third off of a Bradley error and scored on a wild pitch to increase the Redbird lead to three runs, 6-3. The Braves couldn't score in the top of the seventh, as ISU won the game, 6-3.
After a four-game home swing, the Redbirds are back on the road, as they travel to Springfield, Mo., to take on Missouri State in a three-game series. Saturday's doubleheader will begin at noon, and the final game of the series will be Sunday at noon.
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