NORMAL, Ill. –  Illinois State outfielder J.T. Sokolove snapped a 2-2 tie with a solo home run in the bottom of the sixth inning, and the homestanding Redbirds added four insurance runs in the seventh and eighth innings to salvage the series finale of a three-game Missouri Valley Conference series with a 7-2 win over the University of Evansville baseball team at Duffy Bass Field in Normal, Illinois.  Evansville still won the weekend series, 2-1.

“We just didn’t go out and earn the win today,” said UE head coach Wes Carroll.  “They made some defensive plays that could’ve changed the direction of the game.

“It is still great to get a series win on the road in the Valley though.”

Evansville and Illinois State traded two runs each in the first two innings, as fifth-year outfielder Danny Borgstrom delivered a two-run single in the second inning for UE.  Evansville nearly took the lead in the fifth inning, as graduate third baseman Eric Roberts blasted a ball to deep right field which Sokolove skied high above the fence to rob Roberts of a home run.

An inning later, Sokolove sent the first pitch he saw from UE reliever Jakob Meyer (0-3) over the wall in left field to break the 2-2 tie and give Illinois State a lead it would never lose.  For Meyer, it was a rare home run allowed, as it was just the second round-tripper allowed in his UE career, with the first coming in 2020 in his first collegiate inning on the mound.

Illinois State would tack on a single run in the seventh inning on a sacrifice fly, before scoring three runs in the eighth inning on RBI singles by outfielder Daniel Pacella and catcher Nick Strong to grab a 7-2 lead.  Illinois State closer Elijah Dale retired all six men he faced in the eighth and ninth innings to earn his fifth save of the year and make a winner out of ISU starter Derek Salata (4-5).

 Senior outfielder Mark Shallenberger went 2-for-3 with a run scored to lead the UE offense.  Borgstrom, junior shortstop Simon Scherry and junior second baseman Kip Fougerousse had UE’s other three hits on the afternoon.

With the victory, Illinois State improves to 18-26 overall and 7-14 in the MVC.  Evansville, meanwhile, falls to 28-19 overall and 11-10 in the Valley.  The Purple Aces remain in fourth place in the league standings after Sunday’s action, with the top four teams earning a first-day bye in the conference tournament in three weeks.  Evansville will return home on Tuesday night to host Bellarmine in a non-conference game.  First-pitch is set for 6 p.m. and Tuesday’s game can be seen live on ESPN+.

UNI wins by 9-1 final

CEDAR FALLS, Iowa – Northern Iowa pitcher Kailyn Packard fanned nine batters and allowed just one hit in 4 2/3 innings of work to pace the Panthers to a 9-1 win over the University of Evansville softball team on Sunday at Robinson-Dresser Sports Complex.

Another quick start saw UNI grab a 3-0 lead in the bottom of the first.  Addison McElrath capped off the scoring with a 2-run double.  Evansville cut into the deficit in the top of the second when Zoe Frossard singled to bring in Alexa Davis.  Davis was hit by a pitch to lead off the frame before stealing second and scoring on Frossard’s 1-out hit.

In the bottom of the third, UNI put the game out of reach with six runs scoring, all with two outs.  Following a walk and a single, Brooke Snider launched a 3-run shot to left center.  Another RBI single, coupled with two bases loaded walks, extended the lead to 9-1.

That would be the final score after five innings.  Megan Brenton made the start with all nine runs being charged to her.  She threw 2 2/3 innings.  Erin Kleffman tossed a scoreless 1 1/3 frames.  UE picked up one hit on the day with Frossard picking up a single.  Northern Iowa had seven hits in the game.

Following Sunday’s slate of Missouri Valley Conference games, the seedings for the conference tournament will be announced.