BATON ROUGE, La. – Five scoreless innings sent Illinois State (6-10) and Florida Atlantic (10-8) into extra innings on Friday to open the LSU Tiger Classic. Senior Riley Phipps entered into the game in the bottom of the ninth to pinch hit for Illinois State, dropping a one-out single into centerfield – bringing home a pair of Redbirds – to give Illinois State the 4-3 victory. Illinois State's win marks the first time since the 2009 season that the Redbirds have played back-to-back extra-inning games, after the Redbirds took down Maryland, 8-7, in eight innings last Sunday.
Florida Atlantic jumped on the board early to take a 2-0 lead over the Redbirds with just a single out. A back-handed catch and flip by Alex Caliva to Riley Strandgard at second base helped Illinois State close out the top of the frame. Junior Shannon Felde hit a lead-off single into right field to start momentum for the Redbirds. Caliva moved the runner with a sac bunt, while a hard-hit single up the middle by Allison Spence scored Felde from second to get Illinois State on the board.
Strandgard hit a lead-off single to center field in the bottom of the second, keeping the Redbird bats alive. A sac bunt by catcher Lauren Prader moved Strandgard to second base, before a single to right field by centerfielder Kori Mesecher brought Strandgard home to knot the game at two-all.
After back-to-back scoreless frames by both sides, starting pitcher Sarah Finck and the Redbird defense continued to shut down the Owls offense, sending FAU down in order for the second time. In the bottom of the frame, Felde hit Illinois State's third lead-off single of the game but the designated player couldn't make it across home plate.
In the bottom of the sixth, Andrea Coursey was hit by the second pitch sent into her to make her way on-base for Illinois State to lead off the inning. It marked the fifth time in the game that the lead-off Redbird made their way on base.
A fly out to Mesecher in center field helped Illinois State escape the bases-loaded jam in the top of the seventh, bringing the junior to the plate to start the home half of the inning. The Redbirds were sent down in order to send Illinois State's opening game of the tournament to extra innings for the second-consecutive game.
With two outs, Florida Atlantic dropped a single into centerfield to add pressure to Illinois State, but a leaping catch in right field by Riley Hale kept the Owls off the board in the top of the eighth. A two-out single by the Owls in the top of the ninth brought home a FAU runner to give the Owls a one-run advantage going into the bottom of the frame.
A lead-off single to right field, followed by a walk issued to Prader, put a pair of Redbirds on base before a sac bunt by Hale moved the runners into scoring position. With one out, Phipps entered into the game to pinch hit for Illinois State. The senior's single to centerfield brought home Strandgard and Prader to give the Redbirds the 4-3 win in nine innings to open the LSU Tiger Classic.
Illinois State will return to the field this evening at approximately 5 p.m. to face the tournament host and nationally ranked Tigers.
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