Late-Inning Rally Not Enough for Illinois State; Redbirds Drop Series Finale 4-1

NORMAL, Ill. – Illinois State softball (20-17, 10-3 MVC) fell 4-1 to Missouri State (20-16, 11-3 MVC) in the rubber match between the Redbirds and Bears despite a seventh inning rally by the 'Birds on Sunday afternoon.

BIRDS BITS

Offensive Highlights: 

• Addison Masching: 1-for-3, RBI
• Jayden Standish: 1-for-3
• Brandi LaFountaine: 1-for-2

Pitching Breakdown:

• Hannah Ross (L, 6-7): 5.0 IP, 2 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 4 BB, 5 K, 3 WP
• Amanda Fox: 2.0 IP, 2 H, 2 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 4 K

HOW IT HAPPENED

It was a true pitcher's duel between Illinois State and Missouri State in the rubber match of the series on Sunday afternoon. 

Both squads were hitless through the first two innings of play as senior pitcher Hannah Ross picked up where she left off after her complete game shutout of the Bears in the first game of the series. 

Ross, who had not given up an earned up in her last four appearances (21.1 IP), gave up a pair of runs, both earned, in the top of the third. The first batter of the inning dropped a bunt back to Ross in the circle and she fielded her position to get the first out. The second batter slapped a hard-hit ball back to Ross who could not field it cleanly and the Bears had a runner on first. The second out of the inning came via a strikeout swinging. With two outs, the Bears doubled to the gap in right center, scoring the runner on first. A pair of wild pitches allowed the second run of the inning to score, but Ross was able to limit the damage to just those two runs as she picked up the third and final out of the inning with another strikeout swinging. 

Senior Brandi LaFountaine dropped a bloop infield single with one out in the bottom of the third. She advanced to second on a wild pitch and freshman Bailah Bognar entered to pinch run for her. Bognar advanced to third on another wild pitch, but a fly out to center field ended the inning and the Redbirds remained behind 2-0. 

Illinois State put another runner on in the bottom of the fifth as junior Jayden Standish singled to right center, but the Redbirds were unable to string together some hits and they remained scoreless through five innings. 

Senior Amanda Fox entered in relief of Ross to start the top of the sixth. Fox allowed one hit in her first inning of work, but struck out three batters to end the inning. 

Missouri State was able to scratch another pair across in the top of the seventh. The Bears drew a leadoff walk, but Fox came back to get a fly out and another strikeout to give Illinois State two outs in the inning. The Redbirds seemed to be out of the inning unscathed as senior Kaili Chval ran in to catch a fly ball, but it popped out of her glove to extend the inning for the Bears. With runners on second and third, a single to left field scored both runners and Missouri State took a 4-0 lead. 

With only three outs left to play, fifth-year senior Emme Olson drew a four-pitch leadoff walk to start the bottom of the seventh. Freshman Abby Horton entered to pinch run for Olson and a groundout from sophomore Abby Knight moved Horton into scoring position. Sophomore Addison Masching singled through the left side to score Horton from second and break the shutout. The Redbirds' rally came up short as a deep fly to center and a popup caught in foul territory ended the game. Missouri State took the final game 4-1 and got the series win. 

NOTES

• Fox tossed a season-high four strikeouts in her two innings of work. Her career-high is 11 and she has fanned three batters on seven occasions this season which was her previous season high for the 2023 season.
• Despite the walk in the seventh, Olson has yet to record her 200^th hit. She is currently at 199 career hits, so her next hit will be her 200^th.

ON DECK

Illinois State (20-17, 10-3 MVC) will play its fourth-straight home game on Tuesday, Apr. 11 as the Redbirds are set to host Bradley (10-31, 2-12 MVC) at 5 p.m. CT for the final game of the series between the 'Birds and Braves. 

For updates on Illinois State Softball, follow the Redbirds on Twitter (@RedbirdsSB), Instagram (@redbirdsoftball), and Facebook (Illinois State Redbird Softball).

GoRedbirds.com and the Illinois State Redbirds App: Your sources for Illinois State tickets, Weisbecker Athletic Fund gifts, multimedia, Redbird merchandise, photos and more.