TAMPA, Fla. – Illinois State squared off against its second ranked opponent at the USF-Wilson DeMarini Tournament, and the Redbirds (1-4) came up short against No. 16/18 Michigan by a score of 6-1 in the finale of the tournament Sunday at the USF Softball Stadium.
"I thought we had trouble getting started today and then got a bit better as the game went on with better at-bats," ISU head coach Melinda Fischer said. "We had some situations where we couldn't come up with a big hit later in the game and overall, it was a bit sloppy on both sides for both teams. It was one of those games where whichever team stuck it out and gut it out was going to come up with the win. We saw some bright spots and we got some players an opportunity to play, which is good for us moving forward."
The Wolverines jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the bottom of the first, thanks to a two-run single off the bat of Aidan Falk. The Redbirds were able to get one of those runs back in the top half of the second inning, when Riley Strandgard led off the inning with a single and then stole second base. Lauren Prader was then hit by a pitch and Alex Caliva singled to load the bases with two outs for Shannon Felde, who worked a walk to record the RBI and score Strandgard from third to make it 2-1 in favor of Michigan.
Michigan got that run back in the bottom of the second on a RBI double by leadoff hitter Faith Canfield to widen the lead back to two at 3-1. The Wolverines would add another run in the third inning and two in the fourth inning to make the score 6-1 headed into the fifth inning. The Redbirds threatened in the top half of the sixth inning, loading the bases with just one out, but could not push a run across and the Wolverines closed out the game in the seventh for the victory.
"I think all the games were competitive, even the Florida game was in reach until the sixth inning," Fischer said of the initial weekend of play for her team. "For our younger players who have not seen this competition and for our returners who have not had a lot of playing time in our program, this weekend was huge for them to get their feet wet. We had moments of great hitting and pitching, and we made several spectacular plays in the field. I think they all understand now that if they want to get to the next level, they need to more consistent instead of just competitive."
The Redbirds return to action next weekend at the Littlewood Classic hosted by Arizona State. ISU begins tournament play Friday, Feb. 16 at 11 against Texas State, before facing San Diego later in the day in a split doubleheader. Two more games against San Diego and host Arizona State will be played on Saturday, before ISU wraps up the tournament Sunday against North Dakota.
GoRedbirds.com: Your online source for Illinois State Athletics, tickets, Weisbecker Scholarship Fund gifts, multimedia, Redbird merchandise, photos and more.
Â
