TEMPE, Ariz. – After a difficult weekend against ranked opponents in Tempe, Arizona, the Illinois State softball team closed out the five-game slate with an 6-5 eight-inning victory over Boston University Sunday morning at Farrington Stadium.
Despite entering the contest 1-3 for the weekend, the Redbirds had led in all but one of the previous four games. The trend continued Sunday as Boston's first inning run was matched by ISU in the bottom of the frame and then in the third the Redbirds took the lead on a Stephanie Gallant RBI single that drove in Regan Romshek.
Romshek then did her job in the circle, holding Boston scoreless for four-straight innings after the first. In the bottom of the fifth, she helped herself out with a solo home run to lead off the inning, extending ISU's lead to 3-1.
However, the Terriers showed some fight, and put together a four-hit sixth inning that included two doubles and a home run. Boston took a 4-3 lead and knocked Romshek out of the game in the process. McKensie Vissering entered in relief to secure the final two outs of the frame and work a scoreless seventh.
Heading into the bottom of the seventh, ISU needed a run and used a little small ball to get the job done. Romshek doubled to lead off the inning and was then moved to third on a sacrifice bunt from Payton Billups. With one out and the tying run at third, Gallant came up and hit a sacrifice fly to centerfield that scored Romshek and tied the game.
With international tiebreaker rules in effect, Boston plated a run in the top half of the eighth inning to regain a 5-4 advantage. But in the bottom of the frame, ISU rallied. Annie Heineman drew a leadoff walk that put runners on first and second with nobody out. Kara Repp then sacrificed the runners over before Jordan de los Reyes hit an RBI single to tie the game.
Romshek drew a walk to load the bases and then Billups drew a walk-off walk to win the game 6-5 and push ISU to 4-6 on the season.
The Redbirds leave Arizona with a 2-3 record and all three losses coming to ranked opponents. ISU will now have a few days off before heading to Gainesville, Florida, to play five games at the University of Florida.
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