BOCA RATON, Fla. – The Illinois State softball team opened Florida Atlantic's "Strike-Out Cancer" Tournament with a pair of shutout wins over Long Island and Hofstra on Friday. Â
BIRD BITS – GAME 1 VS. LONG ISLAND – W, 8-0
Top Offensive Players:
- Mack Leonard: 1-for-3, BB, HR
- Emme Olson: 2-for-4, R, 2 RBI, 2B
- Alyssa Wiebel: 2-for-3, 2 RBI, 2B, BB, HR
- Kadi Borries: 1-for-3, HR
Pitching Breakdown:
BY THE NUMBERS / KEY INNINGS – GAME 1 VS. LONG ISLAND – W, 8-0
- For the fourth time this season, Mack Leonard lifted a lead-off home run over the center field wall to give ISU an early lead.
- A two-RBI double by Emme Olson pushed two more Redbirds across in the third, before the sophomore scored on an error by LIU's catcher to make it 4-0 in favor of ISU.
- Kadi Borries helped extend ISU's lead by a run in the fourth, launching her second homer of the season over the left field wall, before fellow senior Alyssa Wiebel followed in her teammate's footsteps and sent one over the wall in the fifth for a 6-0 lead.
- ISU added two more runs on the board in the top of the seventh, behind LIU's third error and a double by Wiebel.
- Morgan Day carried a one-hitter until the bottom of the seventh, as the Sharks tallied their second hit of the game with two outs, before Day struck out LIU's final batter to finish with 10 in the game.
BIRD BITS – GAME 2 VS. HOFSTRA – W, 9-0 (5)
Top Offensive Players:
- Emme Olson: 4-for-4, 2 R, 3 RBI, HR
- Andrea Coursey: 2-for-3, R, RBI, 2B
- Taylor Vanderpool: 2-for-3, R, RBI
- Alyssa Wiebel: 2-for-3, R, 2B, RBI
Pitching Breakdown:
BY THE NUMBERS / KEY INNINGS – GAME 2 VS. HOFSTRA – W, 9-0 (5)
- A two-run shot over the left field wall by Emme Olson broke the scoring open for ISU in the top of the third inning.
- Back-to-back doubles by Alyssa Wiebel and Andrea Coursey to lead off the fourth inning helped kickstart a seven-run frame for the Redbirds, which included two more doubles by Mack Leonard and Kadi Borries before there were any outs recorded.
- A one-out single by Olson and Wiebel helped the Redbirds continue to tack runs on the board in the fourth, before a ground out to Taylor Vanderpool sealed the game 9-0 in five innings.
ON DECK
Illinois State will continue Florida Atlantic's "Strike-Out Cancer" Tournament on Saturday with a pair of contests against North Florida and the tournament host Owls.
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