NORMAL, Ill. – The Illinois State softball team racked up 20 hits in its fall season opener against Lake Land College Wednesday night at Marian Kneer Stadium.
All fall games are situational-style with no score kept, but the Redbirds secured hits from 13 different players. Abby Turczyn led the way, finishing 3-for-3 with three RBIs.
"Our offense really got going," said head coach Melinda Fischer. "Abby had a great offensive game, and from a freshmen standpoint, Allison Spence and Shannon Felde also played well. We did start sluggish, but I thought the second group got us going on both sides of the ball."
Spence went 2-for-2 at the plate with an RBI and Felde finished 2-for-3. Annie Heineman and Regan Romshek each had a pair of hits and three RBIs.
"During the fall season we try different combos and it's exciting to see how they work together," said Fischer. "We had a couple of good plays from a rundown situation, which is something we have worked on a little bit in practice. It's nice to see that what we had worked on, we carried well into a game situation."
ISU will now host Illinois Central College Friday at Marian Kneer Stadium in the team's second fall exhibition. First pitch is scheduled for 5:30 p.m. Wednesday at Marian Kneer Stadium.
The fall season will feature six games after Friday's contest. On Sept. 23, ISU will host crosstown Heartland College at 6:30 p.m. before finishing the week with a doubleheader in Champaign against Illinois. The Fighting Illini defeated ISU on a walk-off home run during the 2015 season.
ISU will make their last trip of the fall on Oct. 4 when they travel to Barrington, Illinois, to face DePaul. The Blue Demons defeated ISU in a one-run game last season.
Illinois State closes the fall campaign with a home doubleheader against Wisconsin at 1 p.m. Oct. 10.
GoRedbirds.com:Â Your online source for Illinois State Athletics, tickets, Weisbecker Scholarship Fund gifts, multimedia, Redbird merchandise, photos and more.
