CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. – The Illinois State softball team capped off a hectic weekend in Chattanooga on Sunday with a pair of wins, as the Redbirds swept their final games at the Frost Classic with a 5-4 victory over Southeast Missouri in the morning and a 6-1 defeat of Lamar in the final contest of the day.
BIRDS BITS (Game 1 vs. Southeast Missouri State)
Offensive Highlights:Â
Delainey Bryant: 2-for-3, 1 BB, 1 R, 1 RBI
Addison Masching: 1-for-3, 1 BB, 2 RBI
Tatum Wolford: 2-for-2, 1 R, 1 RBI
Pitching Breakdown:
Gracelyn Kemp: 4 IP, 1 H, 0 ER, 3 BB, 2 SO
Hannah Meeks (W, 1-2): 2.0 IP, 3 H, 3 ER, 2 BB
Hannah Meshnick (SV, 1): 1.0 IP, 2 H, 1 ER, 2 BB
HOW IT HAPPENED
After the first two innings of the game were scoreless, the Redbirds broke things open in the bottom of the third with two runs on two hits to take a 2-0 lead. Masching drove in a pair of runs with two outs to give ISU the advantage which they would hold until the top of the sixth inning, when SEMO plated three runs to take a 3-2 lead. However, the Redbirds would answer right back with three runs of their own in the bottom half of the frame on a Wolford RBI single, a Bryant RBI double and when Bella Wilkerson scored on a wild pitch to go up 5-3. The Redhawks would get one run back in the top of the seventh, but Meshnick held on for her first save of the season to give ISU a 5-4 victory in the first game of the day.
BIRDS BITS (Game 2 vs. Lamar)
Offensive Highlights:
Addison Masching: 2-for-4, 4 RBI
Bella Wilkerson: 2-for-3, 2 RÂ
Bella Atkinson: 1-for-3, 1 R, 1 BB, 1 RBI
Pitching Breakdown:
Hannah Meshnick (W, 3-3): 7 IP, 2 H, 1 ER, 0 BB, 3 K
HOW IT HAPPENED
The Redbirds took the lead in the top of the third inning when Wilkerson scored once again on a wild pitch before Masching drove in Bryant to give ISU a 2-0 advantage. Meshnick was cruising in the circle for the Redbirds, as she allowed her only run of the game in the bottom of the sixth inning as Lamar trimmed the lead to 2-1. In the top of the seventh though, the Redbirds broke the game open with four runs on two hits to go up 6-1. Atkinson got the scoring started with a bases-loaded walk to plate the first run of the inning, before Masching ripped a 3-run double to clear the bases put the Redbirds up by five. Meshnick would then close things out with a scoreless bottom of the seventh inning for her third victory of the season.
ON DECK
Illinois State will head back to the state of Tennessee for the second weekend in a row, when they travel to Murfreesboro for four games at the Middle Tennessee Classic with two games each against the hosts and Ball State. The Redbirds will then travel to Nashville on Sunday to take on Ohio as part of the Lipscomb Purple/Gold Challenge.
For updates on Illinois State Softball, follow the Redbirds on Twitter (@RedbirdsSB), Instagram (@redbirdsoftball), and Facebook (Illinois State Redbird Softball).
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