TAMPA, Fla. – The opening day of the 2025 softball season got off to a good start for Illinois State at the USF-Rawlings Tournament in Tampa, Florida, as the Redbirds picked up a 2-1 extra inning win in the season opener against Delaware before dropping a hard-fought 5-3 contest to host USF in the nightcap on Thursday at the USF Softball Stadium.
Junior Hannah Meshnick was stellar in the circle for the Birds, throwing a complete game and giving up just one run while striking out two in 8 innings. Adisyn Hopkins drove in the first run of the game for the Redbirds and Ella Boyer capped it off by scoring on a wild pitch in the bottom of the eighth inning to give ISU its first win in a season opener since 2021.
In the second game of the day, the Redbirds took on host USF with freshman Gracelyn Kemp making her first collegiate start in the circle for ISU. Bailah Bognar plated two runs and scored one herself to pace the Redbird offense, however a big fourth inning by the Bulls would lead to ISU's first defeat of the year.
BIRDS BITS (Game 1 vs. Delaware)
Offensive Highlights:
Adisyn Hopkins: 2-for-3, RBI
Abby Knight: 1-for-3, 1 SB
Delainey Bryant: 0-for-2, 1 BB, 1 R, 1 SB
Pitching Breakdown:
Hannah Meshnick (W, 1-0): 8.0 IP, 5 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 5 BB, 2 SO
HOW IT HAPPENED
After three scoreless innings to start the game, the Redbirds struck first with a run in the bottom of the fourth inning when Hopkins singled up the middle to score Bryant from third. Delaware answered with a run in the top half of the fifth on an RBI single by Costaro to tie things up and the game remained knotted at 1-1 until the eighth inning, when the Redbirds won the game as Ella Boyer scored from third on a wild pitch to give the Birds a 2-1 extra-inning win to open the season.
BIRDS BITS (Game 2 vs. USF)
Offensive Highlights:
Addison Masching: 3-for-3, 2 2B, 1 R
Tatum Wolford: 2-for-3, 1 2B, 1 RBI
Bailah Bognar: 1-for-2, 1 R, 2 RBI
Pitching Breakdown:
Gracelyn Kemp: 3.0 IP, 2 H, 2 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 2 K
Hannah Meeks (L, 0-1): 0.1 IP, 1 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 3 BB, 1 K
Paige McLeod: 2.2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 1 K
HOW IT HAPPENED
The Redbirds jumped out to an early lead, plating three runs in the top of the second inning to take a 3-0 lead. Bognar got things started with a bloop single down the right field line to score Masching and Knight, and she scored when Wolford doubled to left centerfield. However, the Bulls would turn around and plate five runs in the bottom of the fourth inning to take a 5-3 lead midway through the game. The score would stay there the rest of the way, as the Redbird picked up a split on the first day of the season.
ON DECK
Illinois State will have two more games on the second day of the USF-Rawlings Tournament on Friday, with the first scheduled for 1 p.m. CT against Georgia Southern and the nightcap following at 6 p.m. CT against No. 2/3 Florida. The Redbirds will wrap up play at the USF-Rawlings Tournament on Saturday at 9 a.m. CT against No. 22 Michigan.
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