TAMPA, Fla. – For the second-straight day, the Illinois State softball team split a pair of games in Tampa, Florida. The Redbirds defeated Hampton 5-1 in the morning and then fell 8-0 to number one ranked Florida in five innings to round out the day.
Regan Romshek was dominant in the circle for the Redbirds against Hampton. With ISU fresh off of being no-hit against South Florida the night before, Romshek flipped the script and took a no-hitter through 5 1/3 innings. Eventually, she surrendered four hits and one run, but it was of no threat to ISU after they built a five-run lead.
Romshek went the full seven innings, striking out four and walking two. She only faced 28 batters and picked up her second win of the season, moving her to 2-1 on the season.
She also played a key role at the plate as the top four hitters carried the ISU offense. Annie Heineman contributed from the leadoff spot with an RBI triple and she also scored a run. Romshek went 2-4 with an RBI and a run scored and Payton Billups continued her hot start with a 1-3 day that included another RBI.
However, it was Jordan de los Reyes' bat that was biggest of them all as she finished 2-3 with a double, home run and two RBIs. She also scored two of ISU's run. Combined, the top four hitters went 6-14 with five RBIs and four runs scored.
The Redbirds jumped on the Pirates early, scoring a run in the first and two more in both the third and the fourth.
In game two of the day the Redbirds had their first shot at the top-ranked Gators. ISU was tasked with facing Florida lefthander Delanie Gourley. Gourley made her first start of the season and scattered three hits in the five-inning shutout. Heineman, de los Reyes and Riley Strandgard recorded the ISU hits.
McKensie Vissering made her first start of the season in the circle for the Redbirds and she was magnificent. Vissering kept the Redbirds in the game until Florida ended it with a five-run bottom of the fifth. Prior to that outburst though, Vissering surrendered just two runs in the first and one in the third.
She had help from her defense as ISU did not commit an error until the final inning. Heineman made the play of the game, robbing a home run in center field. She raced back to the track, waited for the ball to come down and leaped up, extending her glove above the fence to make the highlight reel play.
The loss drops the Redbirds to 2-2 as they head into the final day in Tampa. ISU faces No. 8 Michigan at 10:15 CT. A live audio broadcast will be available on GoRedbirds.com.
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