VALPARAISO, Ind. – After opening Friday's doubleheader with a 6-0 shutout of Valparaiso (5-33, 1-22 MVC), the Illinois State softball team (30-9, 16-5 MVC) used a one-hitter performance from Mack Leonard in the circle to grab win No. 30 with a 10-0 victory.
BIRD BITS – Game 1 (W, 6-0)
Top Offensive Players:
Pitching Breakdown:
BY THE NUMBERS / KEY INNINGS – Game 1 (W, 6-0)
- Reili Gardner was the first base runner to reach for the Redbirds in the top of the third by way of a Valparaiso error, but the rookie was left stranded.
- Kaili Chval knocked a lead-off single to right center field in the fourth, before Emme Olson launched her fourth home run of the season over the wall in the next at-bat to put ISU on the board.
- A lead-off triple by Gardner in the next inning, followed by an RBI single from Mack Leonard, extended the Redbirds' lead, as Valparaiso made a pitching change. Illinois State scratched another run on the board with a sac fly from Dayna Kennedy to sit at a four-run cushion.
- Starting pitcher Morgan Day used her seventh strikeout of the game to shut the door on the sixth, as the senior eclipsed 600 career punchouts while becoming just the third player in program history to do so.
- The Redbirds added an insurance run in the sixth and the seventh, before turning a 5-3 double play to seal the 6-0 win.
BIRD BITS – Game 2 (W, 10-0)
Top Offensive Players:
Pitching Breakdown:
- Mack Leonard: 7.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 5 K (first career one-hitter)
BY THE NUMBERS / KEY INNINGS – Game 2 (W, 10-0)
- The first hit of the second game of the twin bill for ISU came from Madi Bylak, as the freshman singled up the middle to lead off the third inning. With one out, Leonard lifted her 10th long ball of the season over the right field wall to help the Redbirds jump on the board.
- Leonard and the Redbird defense worked a quick fourth and fifth inning to sit Valparaiso down in order both frames.
- A lead-off double and stolen base by Olson set the tone in the sixth, as Kennedy drew a walk to make it on base. In the next at-bat, Andrea Coursey launched a home run to left field to help Illinois State charge ahead, 5-0. Back-to-back RBI singles from Gardner and Leonard gave the Redbirds a seven-run advantage.
- Three more runs on four hits highlighted the top of the seventh for Illinois State, before three-straight groundouts to Leonard in the circle helped the junior secure her sixth shutout and first career one-hitter.
ON DECK
Illinois State will wrap up the regular season and three-game series with Valparaiso tomorrow at 11 a.m.
To view ISU's full schedule and find ways to follow the Redbirds, visit GoRedbirds.com. Game times, dates, opponents and locations are subject to change.
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GoRedbirds.com and the Illinois State Redbirds App: Your sources for Illinois State tickets, Weisbecker Scholarship Fund gifts, multimedia, Redbird merchandise, photos and more.
