BOCA RATON, Fla. – In her 37th season as the Illinois State head coach, Melinda Fischer earned her 1,100th victory as a Redbird in a five-inning, 11-0 decision over Florida Atlantic (9-12) at the FAU Parents-Weekend Tournament on Saturday.
Illinois State (6-11) defeated the Purdue Boilermakers (8-12) 6-1 earlier in the day to propel Coach Fischer to her 1,099th win. The Redbirds completed the Saturday sweep with the victory over the Owls, securing that special win for their long-time head coach.
GAME ONE (Purdue)
BIRD BITS
Offensive Highlights:
Pitching Breakdown:
HOW IT HAPPENED
- The Redbirds took an early 2-0 lead in the bottom of the first inning. Reili Gardner singled up the middle followed with a double by Emme Olson. Abby Knight then singled and advanced to second on the throw, Gardner and Olson both scored.
- Purdue was able to get out of the inning after making a pitching change, and the Boilermakers earned a run back in the top of the second on an RBI single to right field.
- Illinois State retaliated in the bottom half of the inning as Addison Masching collected her first hit of the day and advanced to second on a wild pitch. Gardner then singled and stole second before Olson drew a walk. With the bases loaded, Knight picked up her third RBI of the day on a hit by pitch, and Masching scored. Gardner then scored on a wild pitch and the inning came to a close with Illinois State leading 4-1.
- It was a defensive battle for the third, fourth and fifth frames, until the Redbirds were able to score another pair in the bottom of the sixth. Olson started the rally with her third hit of day, a double to center field. Madi Bylak entered as a pinch runner and Knight found herself on the bases again, drawing a walk. Two runners on, two outs and Kaili Chval slashed a triple to right center field, extending the Illinois State lead to 6-1.
- Hannah Ross tossed the final frame and got the final out on a strikeout looking. This is Ross' third complete game of the season and she tied her single-game career high of four strikeouts.
GAME TWO (Florida Atlantic)
BIRD BITS
Offensive Highlights:
- Hanna Hicks: 3-for-3, 2B, 3 RBI, R
- Addison Masching: 1-for-1, 2B, 2 RBI, 2 R, BB, SH
- Brandi LaFountaine: 2-for-2, 2 R, BB
- Jayden Standish: 1-for-1, 2B, RBI, R
Pitching Breakdown:
HOW IT HAPPENED
- Another productive first inning for the Redbirds as they jumped out to an early 8-0 lead over the Owls. The first run scored came on a bases loaded walk and Delainey Bryant got credited with the RBI. A sacrifice fly by Chval scored Gardner and Knight scored on a wild pitch.
- It was 3-0 before the Owls made a pitching change, still in the first frame. The first batter to face the new pitcher was Hanna Hicks. Hicks shot a double down the left field line and three more runs crossed the plate for the Redbirds. Back to the top of the order, Masching doubled, scoring Hicks, and Gardner singled, scoring Masching. FAU was finally able to end the inning, 'Birds up 8-0.
- Illinois State was able to tack on another run in the top of the third on sacrifice bunt by Masching that scored Brandi LaFountaine. Through three innings, the Redbirds scored nine runs, but they did not stop there.
- In the top of the fifth inning, Chval drew a leadoff walk to start. Jayden Standish entered as a pinch hitter and doubled to deep right center field, allowing Chval to score from first.
- The Redbirds scored one more run in the fifth on a crazy play. Standish got caught in a rundown, but escaped and ended up on third. Then LaFountaine got caught in a rundown between first and second, allowing Standish to score and LaFountaine ended up safely at second.
- The game ended after five innings as the Redbirds outscored the Owls 11-0.
ON DECK
The Redbirds will finish the FAU Parents-Weekend Tournament with another contest against the Owls tomorrow (Mar. 6) at 1:30 p.m. CT.
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