NORMAL, Ill. – After battling through seven scoreless innings, Illinois State came up short to Southern Illinois in extras in the Missouri Valley Conference Tournament semifinal on Friday night at Marian Kneer Stadium.
After the Redbirds' bases-loaded situation in the seventh inning, the Salukis plated two unearned runs in the top of the eighth that would secure the two-run shutout win for SIU.
Annie Heineman led the Redbirds with her 2-for-3 outing at the plate with Riley Hale and Riley Strandgard each tallying a run. Sarah Finck tossed her 23rd complete game of the season with four strikeouts and a single-game high of 8.0 innings pitched. Allison Spence logged 18 putouts, topping her career single-game high by four.
The second-seeded Redbirds slide to 30-21 while the No. 3-seed Salukis improve to 32-22 on the season.
The Salukis threatened in the first inning with two runners in scoring position, however three quick defensive plays held them off. The Redbirds' Hale led off the first with a single, but neither team could convert.
Heineman knocked the Redbirds' second hit to center in the fifth before Alex Caliva put runners in scoring position, but the game remained scoreless. In the sixth, Strandgard laced a single through the left.
Similar to the fifth, Heineman singled to the pitcher to lead off the seventh before Caitlyn Daly advanced her on a sac-bunt. Caliva took the hit to put two on. Hale did the same to load the bases as SIU made a pitching change. However, the Redbirds could not come away with a run, sending the game into extras.
Southern Illinois took advantage of the extra innings early, scoring with no outs on the board. Katelyn Massa's sac-fly upped the Salukis lead to two in the eighth inning after a pair of Redbird miscues.
The Redbirds made contact in the bottom of the eighth but could not come up with a run, dropping the two-run decision.
Finck took the complete-game loss while SIU's Brianna Jones earned the win in 1.2 innings. Savanna Dover got the start with 6.1 innings but the game was scoreless when she exited, earning the no decision.
The 2017 NCAA Softball takes place on Sunday at 9 p.m. central time. Fans can watch on ESPN2.
For updates on Illinois State Softball, follow the Redbirds on Twitter and Instagram.
GoRedbirds.com: Your online source for Illinois State Athletics tickets, Weisbecker Scholarship Fund gifts, multimedia, Redbird merchandise, photos and more.
