NORMAL, Ill. - The second-seeded Illinois State softball team's (25-28, 17-8 MVC) season concluded with a 4-2 loss to seventh-seeded Loyola (25-30, 11-15 MVC) in the semifinals of the Missouri Valley Conference Softball Championship, Friday afternoon at Marian Kneer Stadium. ISU took a 2-1 lead into the seventh inning, but could not secure the victory.
The Redbirds mustered just three hits against MVC Pitcher of the Year Brittany Gardner (WP, 19-14). Kolby Hoffman tallied two hits and a run, while Kara Repp doubled and scored once. Laura Canopy brought home a run with a sacrifice fly and reached on a walk, which brought her on-base streak to 28 games.
Regan Romshek (LP, 17-16) was pinned with the loss after surrendering two seventh inning home runs to the Ramblers. Taylor Baxter (ND) faced two batters in relief, before McKensie Vissering came out of the bullpen to throw a scoreless inning.
The long ball haunted Romshek all afternoon, as a solo blast by Olivia Bell opened the game's scoring in the second inning. After being shut out by Gardner for the first four innings, the Redbirds broke through with two runs in the bottom of the fifth. Canopy drove home Repp with a sacrifice fly, before Hoffman scored on a LU error off the bat of Nichelle Harrison to give ISU a 2-1 advantage.
Romshek faced the minimum in the fifth and the sixth after being given the lead, before the Ramblers took it back in the seventh. Lauren Zarworski walked to lead off the frame, before Jacquelyn Murphy hit a two-run blast down the left-field line to put the Ramblers up 3-2. Katy LaCivita followed with a home run of her own, a solo blast to left center that made it 4-2 Loyola. Baxter came in and did not retire either of the two batters she faced, before Vissering entered and got three outs to end the frame.
Gardner struck out the side in the bottom half of the seventh to earn her third-straight complete game victory of the tournament. The Ramblers will square off with fourth-seeded Bradley in the championship game, Saturday at 2:37 p.m.
The loss marks the conclusion of the careers of ISU's five seniors - Baxter, Sara Bradley, Canopy, Harrison and Hoffman. The group combined to win 126 games, make two NCAA Tournament appearances, and win a MVC regular-season and tournament crown in their four seasons.
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