TAMPA, Fla. – Four Redbirds made their collegiate debuts tonight as Illinois State (0-1) dropped its first game of the season to the South Florida Bulls (1-0), despite taking the lead early on a two out two-RBI single from Chloe Jefferson.
BIRD BITS
Top Offensive Players:
Pitching Breakdown
- Hannah Ross: 3.0 IP, 6 H, 5 R, 5 ER, 2 BB, 3 K
- Amanda Fox: 3.0 IP, 3 H, 4 R, 2 ER, 2 BB, 3 K
BY THE NUMBERS / KEY INNINGS
- Recording Illinois State's first hit of the 2022 season and knocking in the first runs as well was Chloe Jefferson as she hit a two-RBI single to left center. Scoring on the play was Jayden Standish and Rebecca Moffett.
- Hannah Ross' three strikeouts came in the bottom of the second inning when she threw back-to-back-to-back strikeouts to end the inning and leave two runners stranded.
- Out in center field, Michele Calabrese was covering lots of ground, especially in the bottom of the fourth when she made a diving grab to get the second out of the inning, and Amanda Fox closed out the frame with a strikeout to take Illinois State to the top of the fifth.
- Four Redbirds made their collegiate debuts tonight – Delainey Bryant started at shortstop and hit first, Bella Wilkerson entered in the bottom of the fourth to catch Fox and got one at-bat, Abby Knight and Addison Masching both pinch hit, Knight in the top of the fifth and Masching in the top of the seventh.
ON DECK
Illinois State will start the second day of the USF Tournament (Friday, Feb. 11) by taking on No. 16/13 Michigan at 11:30 a.m. CT before a 4:30 p.m. CT matchup against No. 6/5 Florida.
For updates on Illinois State Softball, follow the Redbirds on Twitter (@RedbirdsSB) and Instagram (@redbirdsoftball).
GoRedbirds.com and the Illinois State Redbirds App: Your sources for Illinois State tickets, Weisbecker Scholarship Fund gifts, multimedia, Redbird merchandise, photos and more.
