DES MOINES, Iowa – In Thursday's quarterfinal game, #4 seeded Illinois State jumped out to a 6-0 lead after two innings of play against #5 seeded Missouri State and looked to be in control of the game. However, the Bears chipped away at the Redbirds lead cutting it to one after six innings, but Paige McLeod came on in relief and shut down the Bears (20-33) as the Redbirds (24-39) held on for the win to advance to the MVC Softball Championship semifinals on Friday at Ron Buel Field.
BIRDS BITS (vs. Missouri State)
Offensive Highlights:Â
Delainey Bryant: 3-for-4, 2 R, 1 2B, 1 3B
Abby Knight: 2-for-3, 1 R
Julia Larson: 1-for-3, 1 R, 1 2B, 1 RBI
Addison Masching: 1-for-3, 1 R, 1 RBI
Pitching Breakdown:
Hannah Meshnick (W, 13-10): 5.1 IP, 8 H, 5 R, 5 ER, 3 BB, 5 K
Paige McLeod (S, 2): 1.2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 3 K
HOW IT HAPPENED
Illinois State wasted little time jumping out to a lead, scoring three runs on four hits in the bottom of the first inning. Bryant scored the first run of the game, as she led things off with a double and later scored on a fielder's choice by Tatum Wolford, who then scored on a double off the bat of Larson. She would then come around to cross the plate on an RBI single up the middle by Adisyn Hopkins as the Redbirds made it 3-0. ISU would double its advantage in the bottom of the second inning, thanks to an RBI single by Masching and two runs coming around to score on an error on a ball hit by Larson to make the score 6-0.
The Bears would get one of those runs back in the top of the third inning on a solo home run off the bat of McKenzie Vaughan to make it 6-1 in favor of ISU. The score would stay there until the top of the fifth, when Vaughan left the yard again with her second solo shot of the game to make it 6-2. Two batters later, Alexis Perales would trim the Illinois State lead to 6-4 with a two-run home run shot over the left field wall. The Bears would then trim the deficit to just one at 6-5 in the top of the sixth inning off an RBI single, which knocked Meshnick out of the game as McLeod took over in the circle for the Redbirds.
With one out and a runner on, McLeod picked up a crucial strikeout for the second out of the inning and then forced a ground out to end the frame and preserve the one-run lead for the Redbirds. After ISU was held scoreless in the bottom of the sixth inning, McLeod took the circle in the top of the seventh looking to close things out. The Bears got a leadoff bloop single down the right field line by Vaughan to start things off, but McLeod settled down and got a big strikeout and an out on a fielder's choice to set up the game-winning strikeout to slam the door on the Bears and secure the victory.
ON DECK
The Redbirds will take on top-seeded Southern Illinois in the semifinals on Friday at 1 p.m. at Ron Buel Field. Live stats for the game can be found on StatBroadcast and the contest will be streamed live on ESPN+.
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