OMAHA, Neb. -- The Indiana State softball team (11-8, 0-2 MVC) opened Missouri Valley Conference play on Sunday, dropping a pair of games at Creighton at the CU Sports Complex on Sunday afternoon. Stephanie Jonson finished 2-for-5 on the day, including her first homerun of the season, along with two RBI and a walk to lead the Sycamores. Bailey Wittenauer also had a roundtripper in the second game, marking her second homer of the year.
GAME 1 - CREIGHTON 6, INDIANA STATE 0
Creighton struck out for its first run in the first inning, as Renae Sinkler homered to right. The Bluejays added a trio of scores in the third, capitalizing on an error, two wild pitches and a walk to put two runners in scoring position. Michelle Graner then doubled to left center, plating Sinkler and Liz McKewon, later scoring herself on a hit by Sara Loeffelholz to go up 4-0.
CU tacked on two more runs in the fifth, as Michelle Koch sent a homerun over the centerfield fence, and Loeffelholz came in on the Sycamores' fourth walk of the inning. Despite loading the bases in both the first and second innings, ISU was unable to generate a long stretch of offense. Amber Paz, Lindsey Beisser and Stephanie Jonson highlighted the effort, as each notched a single, while Beisser drew a pair of walks.
CU's Tara Oltman nabbed the win, throwing a complete-game, seven-inning effort with eight walks and seven strikeouts. Meagan McCurdy (5-5) took the loss, going 4.1 innings while striking out seven, and Sarah Evans came in for 1.2 innings of relief.
GAME 2 - CREIGHTON 6, INDIANA STATE 5
Indiana State came out strong in the top of the first, as Paz walked, and Marcum singled before Wittenauer belted a homerun to right to take a 3-0 lead. CU, however, countered with three runs of its own in the bottom of the frame, as Sinkler, Graner and Kari Sakamoto all came around to tie the game at 3-3.
The Sycamores tallied two more scores in the fourth inning, started off with Lindsey Beisser reaching base after being hit by a pitch. Jonson then sent a long shot out of the park on the left side, making it 5-3.
CU chipped away at Indiana State's advantage, though, scoring a run in each of the final innings. Oltman, who started the first game, returned in relief in the second contest to hold the Sycamores scoreless over the next three innings. The senior allowed just one hit - a double by Kim Pierce in the seventh - and had three strikeouts to seal her second win of the day and tie for the CU school record for career strikeouts.
While Oltman (12-4) took the victory, Beisser suffered her first loss and is now 2-1 on the season.
Indiana State returns to action on Wednesday, March 24 in a doubleheader with in-state foe Butler. First pitch is set for 2 p.m. (ET), with the second game slated for approximately 4 p.m.
