PUERTO VALLARTA, Mexico – It was a busy day on the diamond for Illinois State on Friday, as the Redbirds played in the first game of the day at the Puerto Vallarta College Challenge against FIU and followed that with an afternoon contest against Big Ten Conference foe Indiana. A strong pitching performance for ISU helped push game one into extra innings before FIU was able to come away with a 4-0 win and a late comeback against the Hoosiers came up just short for the Redbirds in a 6-5 defeat in the second game of the day at Nancy Almaraz Field.
BIRDS BITS (Game 1 vs. FIU)
Offensive Highlights:
Delainey Bryant: 2-for-3, 2B, BB
Julia Larson: 1-for-3, SB
Bella Wilkerson: 1-for-2, 2B, BB
Pitching Breakdown:
Hannah Meshnick (L, 1-2): 7.1 IP, 4 H, 3 R, 0 ER, 2 BB, 2 K
Paige McLeod: 0.2 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 0 ER
HOW IT HAPPENED
For the second day in a row, the Redbirds got a great pitching performance this time from Meshnick who did not give up a run through seven innings in the circle as the game moved to extra innings in a 0-0 tie. With one out and a runner on third, FIU finally got on the scoreboard with an RBI single to left field. From there, the Panthers would tack on three more unearned runs as the Redbirds could not push any runs across the plate in the bottom of the eighth to fall by a final of 4-0.
BIRDS BITS (Game 2 vs. Indiana)
Offensive Highlights:
Abby Knight: 2-for-3, 2 RBI, 1 BB
Delainey Bryant: 1-for-4, 2 R, 1 RBI
Marissa Moffett: 0-for-1, 2 R, 2 BB
Pitching Breakdown:
Hannah Meeks (L, 0-2): 4.1 IP, 5 H, 3 R, 2 ER, 0 BB, 1 K
Paige McLeod: 0.2 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 0 BB, 0 K
Gracelyn Kemp: 1.0 IP, 1 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 0 K
HOW IT HAPPENED
The Redbirds jumped out to an early lead, plating two runs in the top of the third inning on a RBI single by Knight that scored Moffett and Bryant. ISU held onto that lead until the bottom of the fifth inning, when the Hoosiers plated five runs on five hits to take a 5-2 advantage in the contest. Indiana tacked on one more run in the bottom of the sixth inning to move the score to 6-2, before ISU made things interesting in the top of the seventh inning. Bryant drove in the first run of the inning on a single up the middle and Knight followed with an RBI single that scored Moffett. The Redbirds kept things going on a one-out RBI groundout by Bella Wilkerson to cut the IU lead to 6-5, but Indiana shut the door and would hold on for the one-run victory.
ON DECK
The Redbirds will wrap up play at the Puerto Vallarta College Challenge on Saturday at 10 a.m. CT against North Dakota State.
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