CARBONDALE, Ill. – Despite taking an early lead over No. 6 Southern Illinois (34-18, 13-14 MVC), No. 3 Illinois State (30-22, 19-7 MVC) fell 5-1 to the Salukis in the quarterfinals of the Missouri Valley Conference Tournament.
The Redbirds had to wait a little longer to play their first game of the MVC Tournament as they were originally scheduled to play at 7 p.m. on Thursday, May 11, but a 15-inning contest between No. 2 Missouri State and No. 7 Belmont prevented them from starting the game. Instead, it was postponed to Friday, May 12 at 11 a.m. CT.
Illinois State swept the Salukis just the weekend prior with two walk-off wins and a close 6-5 contest, but the Redbirds could not continue the win streak over SIU.
BIRDS BITS
Offensive Highlights:
Pitching Breakdown:
HOW IT HAPPENED
Illinois State jumped out to an early lead in the bottom of the first inning. Sophomore Delainey Bryant led off the inning with a single to right field. A sacrifice bunt from senior Kaili Chval moved Bryant over to second and into scoring position for fifth-year senior Emme Olson. Olson then hit a ball hard up the middle to the Salukis' second baseman who could not make the play and Bryant scored from second on the error.
The Redbirds had another chance to score in the bottom of the second as senior Brandi LaFountaine doubled off the wall in left field with two outs in the inning, but Illinois State could not bring her home.
Another opportunity came around in the bottom of the third as Chval and Olson drew back-to-back one-out walks, but a fly out and a popup ended the inning.
Senior pitcher Hannah Ross had to deal with some traffic on the basepaths every inning, but Ross was still able to hold SIU scoreless through four innings. The fifth inning was a different story. Ross loaded the bases on two hits and a walk and senior Amanda Fox entered in relief with no outs in the inning. Fox got two popups and was about to get out of the inning, but an 11-pitch at-bat led to a single through the left side that scored two for the Salukis. SIU took a 2-1 lead in the top of the fifth.
Once again, the Redbirds had two on in the bottom of the sixth as sophomore Abby Knight singled to right field with one out and senior Dayna Kennedy drew a two-out walk, but Illinois State was unable to capitalize on the opportunity.
Southern Illinois added a few insurance runs in the top of the seventh as the Salukis hit a leadoff single. The Redbirds got an out before another single put two on for SIU and a third single in the inning scored a run. A fourth single brought the fourth run across for the Salukis with two outs in the inning and Ross reentered to pitch for Illinois State. A wild pitch from Ross allowed the Salukis to take a 5-1 lead heading into the bottom of the seventh inning.
LaFountaine led off the home half of the seventh and nearly hit one over the wall, but the humid air held it up and the center fielder caught it on the warning track. With one out, sophomore Addison Masching got hit by a pitch to give the Redbirds a baserunner, but a flyout to center and a foul out to the left fielder ended the game as No. 6 Southern Illinois beat No. 3 Illinois State 5-1.
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