MADEIRA BEACH, Fla. --Â The Illinois State softball team earned two wins at the Make It Happen Games on Saturday, as the Redbirds blanked UAlbany, 6-0, before pulling out a 2-1 victory over Siena at R.O.C. Park.
Home runs from Bella Atkinson and Morgan Calhoun and a complete game shutout from Hannah Meshnick put the Redbirds in the win column to start the day against the Great Danes. In game two, the Redbirds plated a pair of runs and relied on lockdown defense to secure the victory over the Bulldogs and improve to 9-6 on the season.
BIRD BITS (vs. UAB)
Offensive Highlights:
Bella Atkinson: 2-for-3, HR, 2 RBI, 1 R
Morgan Calhoun: 2-for-4, HR, 2 RBI, 1 R
Hannah Meeks: 2-for-3, 2B
Tatum Wolford: 2-for-4, 2B, 1 R
Ella Boyer: 1-for-3, 2B, RBI, 1 R
Pitching Breakdown:
Hannah Meshnick (W, 4-3): 7.0 IP, 4 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 3 BB, 1 K
HOW IT HAPPENED
Albany threatened to score in the fifth with the bases loaded and two outs, but Meshnick earned a strikeout to escape the inning and keep the contest scoreless. In the bottom half of the inning, Tatum Wolford singled through the left side and came around to score when Atkinson hit her second home run in as many days to give the Redbirds a 2-0 lead. Hannah Meeks started off the sixth inning with a double to center before Ella Boyer doubled down the left field line to bring home pinch runner Saveea Freeland. Ava Boyer joined in with a single, and Calhoun capped off the inning with a two-run homer to extend the Birds' lead to six. Meshnick gave up zero runs on four hits and struck out one batter to earn the Birds' first shutout victory of the season.
BIRD BITS (vs. Siena)
Offensive Highlights:
Morgan Calhoun: 3-for-4
Bella Atkinson: 2-for-4, HR, RBI
Ava Boyer: 2-for-3, 2B
Hannah Meeks: 1-for-4, 2B, RBI
Pitching Breakdown:
Paige McLeod (W, 4-2): 4.1 IP, 6 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 1 K
Gracelyn Kemp: 1.2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 1 K
Hannah Meshnick (S 2): 1.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB
HOW IT HAPPENED
Atkinson's first-inning solo shot gave the Redbirds an early edge, and Meeks later doubled home an insurance run in the third. Siena threatened throughout, collecting six hits, but Illinois State's defense played error-free behind its pitching staff. Paige McLeod went 4.1 innings to earn the win, and Meshnick recorded the final three outs to earn her second save this season.
ON DECK
The Redbirds will close the weekend tomorrow with a game against UMass at 10 a.m. CT.
