NORMAL, Ill. – After a hard-fought 2-1 defeat in 10 innings to league-leading Belmont in game one of Friday's doubleheader, Illinois State was looking to bounce back in game two. It took until the bottom of the seventh inning for lightning to strike, but the Redbirds (7-22, 1-4 MVC) got a walk-off 3-run home run off the bat of Delainey Bryant to pick up a 6-5 win over the Bruins (22-8, 6-1 MVC) and hand Belmont its first conference loss of the year.
BIRDS BITS (Game 1)
Offensive Highlights:
Tatum Wolford: 2-for-4, 1 R, 1 HR, 1 RBI
Abby Knight: 2-for-4
Addison Masching: 2-for-4
Pitching Breakdown:
Hannah Meshnick (L, 3-8): 9.1 IP, 7 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 5 BB, 4 K
Hannah Meeks: 0.2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 0 K
HOW IT HAPPENED
The Bruins jumped out to an early lead in the top of the second inning on a RBI double by Spindler, but Meshnick got out of the jam and limited Belmont to just a one-run lead at 1-0. In the bottom of the third inning, Wolford launched her second home run in as many games over the left field wall to tie the game at 1-1. From there it was a pitcher's duel, as Meshnick settled down and held the Bruins scoreless until the top of the 10th inning, when Barnes homered to right center field to finally break the tie and give Belmont the 2-1 lead. The Redbirds could not match the Bruins' run in the bottom half of the inning, and fell in a heartbreaker.
BIRDS BITS (Game 2)
Offensive Highlights:
Abby Knight: 3-for-3, 1 R, 1 HR, 2 RBI
Bella Atkinson: 2-for-3, 1 R
Marissa Moffett: 2-for-2, 1 R, 1 RBI
Delainey Bryant: 1-for-4, 1 R, 1 HR, 3 RBI
Pitching Breakdown:
Paige McLeod: 3.0 IP, 9 H, 5 R, 4 ER, 0 BB, 1 K
Hannah Meeks (W, 4-4): 4.0 IP, 0 R, 0 ER, 2 BB, 0 K
HOW IT HAPPENED
For the second game in a row, Belmont jumped out to a lead with two runs in the top of the second inning and three runs in the top of the third inning to make the score 5-0. The Redbirds were held scoreless until the bottom of the sixth inning, when Knight crushed a two-run homer over the right field wall to make the score 5-2. After Meeks shut down the Bruins in the top of the seventh inning, the Redbirds came to bat looking for some magic. Tatum Wolford led the inning off on a walk and then moved all the way to third on a sacrifice bunt by Atkinson followed by a throwing error by Belmont's catcher. Wolford then scored on an RBI single by Moffett to cut the deficit to 5-3 with nobody out. Bryant then came to the plate with two on and hit her team-leading third home run over the left field wall for a walk-off 3-run shot to win the game for the Redbirds, 6-5.
ON DECK
Illinois State and Belmont will play the third and final game of the series on Saturday at 2 p.m. at Marian Kneer Stadium.
For updates on Illinois State Softball, follow the Redbirds on Twitter (@RedbirdsSB), Instagram (@redbirdsoftball), and Facebook (Illinois State Redbird Softball).
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