Blaine Kinsey
GoSycamores.com
TERRE HAUTE, Ind.—Freshman Paige Schreiner crushed her first career home run but the Indiana State softball team (14-33, 3-18 MVC) fell in both games of a double header at Price Field Thursday to the Redbirds of Illinois State (26-18, 11-6 MVC).
"I thought that Halle got a lot stronger as the games went on, and gave us a chance in the second game," assistant coach Amanda Zust said. "We are doing a good job of getting people in position to score and need to find a way to get a big hit. This team keeps competing and I know we will have a great practice tomorrow which will lead to a fun weekend to be a part of Sycamore Softball."
Game One:
The Redbirds jumped out to an early 1-0 lead in the top of the first inning and never looked back as the Sycamores fell in game one by a final score of 6-1.
Illinois State led off the game with a solo home run before freshman pitcher Halle Humphrey settled in to finish the inning. The Redbirds then tacked on three more runs in the top of the third inning to extend their lead to 4-2 over the Sycamores.
The Redbirds added one more run in the fourth and the fifth to extend their lead to 6-0 over the Sycamores heading to the bottom of the fifth.
Indiana State answered back in the bottom half of the fifth when senior Halee Myers singled and advanced to second on a single by senior Mackenzie Connelly to put runners at first and second with no one out. Both runners then advanced one base on a sacrifice bunt by freshman Alexa Cavin.
Junior Morgan Allee then put the Sycamores on the board as she grounded out to third base but scored Myers to cut the Redbird lead to 6-1. The Sycamores could get no closer, however, as they fell by a final score of 6-1 in game one.
Game Two:
Playing as the visiting team in game two, the Sycamores had chances early but fell in the second game of the doubleheader by a final score of 5-3.
Junior Morgan Allee led off the game with a single up the middle and advanced to second on a sacrifice by freshman Kelsey Montgomery. Junior Shelby Wilson then singled to center fielder but Allee was called out at home and the Sycamores came up scoreless in the first inning.
Illinois State came back in the bottom of the first inning and plated two runs off two hits to take a 2-0 lead over the Sycamores after one inning of play.The Redbirds then extended their lead to 4-0 in the bottom of the second, scoring two runs again off two hits.
The Sycamores got on the board in the top of the fifth inning when Connelly led off the inning with a walk before freshman Paige Schreiner crushed her first career home run over the left field wall to cut the Redbird lead to 4-2.
The Redbirds answered in the bottom of the fifth with a leadoff solo home run to extend their lead to 5-2.
The Sycamores did not go down quietly as Montgomery led off the top of the sixth with a single and scored on a triple by Wilson to cut the deficit to 5-3. The Sycamores could get no closer, however, as they fell by a final score of 5-3 in game two.
Wilson finished the game 2-3 with an RBI while Schriener went 1-3 with two RBI's and a run scored off her first career home run.
The Sycamores will return to action Saturday, when they host the Purple Aces of Evansville in a three-game series at Price Field.
