By ISU Sports Information
NORMAL – In a weekend series against Loyola that was filled with drama, the Illinois State softball team’s comeback effort came up short as the Redbirds fell 7-5 Sunday at Marian Kneer Stadium.
On Saturday, the Redbirds came from behind to win two games, and Sunday they had to battle back once again. Loyola’s offense announced its presence with a bang, totaling three hits and two runs off the first five pitches from Regan Romshek. Loyola added one more in the inning to take a 3-0 lead after the first half inning.
The Redbird offense came back in the bottom of the inning with a run of its own as Romshek drew a walk and came around to score. The first four ISU hitters reached base, but the first two outs of the inning were made at the plate.
With her team down two, Romshek settled in and dominated Loyola in the circle. After recording the final two outs of the first inning, Romshek three three-straight perfect innings to retire 11 Loyola batters in a row.
Meanwhile, her offense gave her a lead to work with in the bottom of the third. Annie Heineman led off with a single and Romshek followed with a double. Jordan de los Reyes then drew one of her three walks on the day to load the bases for Riley Strandgard. Strandgard hit a hot shot up the middle that was bobbled by Loyola’s shortstop and allowed Heineman to score.
Stephanie Gallant stepped in with her team down one and two runners on. She ripped a single through the right side of the infield that scored both runs and gave ISU its first lead of the day, a 4-3 advantage.
Romshek’s run of 11-straight outs came to an end in the top of the sixth. Brooke Wyderski, Loyola’s third hitter in the lineup, had been held in check Saturday. The freshman was held to just one hit, but she launched a solo home run to tie the game at the start of the sixth.
The Ramblers offense didn’t stop there. In the top of the seventh, Katy LaCivita led off with a solo home run that gave Loyola the lead 5-4 and chased Romshek after six-plus innings of work. McKensie Vissering entered and the Ramblers offense did not let up. A single and two doubles led to two more runs and Loyola took a 7-4 lead into the bottom of the seventh.
ISU, fresh off of two comeback wins, put up a fight as Gallant led off the inning with a home run to cut the deficit to two. Later in the inning, Caitlyn Daly hit a pinch-hit double with two outs, which brought the tying run to the plate. However, ISU could not push any more runs across and fell 7-5 in the series finale.
ISU (22-28, 13-10 MVC) totaled nine hits on the day and all nine hitters reached base. Gallant led the way with a 2-3 performance that included three RBIs and two runs scored. Romshek finished 2-3 with two runs.
Romshek took the loss in the circle, going six innings while giving up eight hits and five earned runs. She struck out three and falls to 12-16 on the season.
Just one weekend remains in the regular season for ISU as the Redbirds travel to Drake for a three-game series Saturday and Sunday.
