ORLANDO, Fla. -- The Indiana State softball team split its doubleheader in day two of the Rebel Games on Monday. The Sycamores first earned a dominant 14-0 win over Detroit Mercy, then dropped a contest to Fairfield, 3-1.
GAME 1 - Indiana State 14, Detroit Mercy 0
Kristen Felker (3-1) earned the victory for ISU in the opener with a one-hitter, throwing five innings with eight strikeouts and just two walks. Kara Spinelli took the complete-game loss for the Titans, as the Sycamores built up 19 hits and had just one batter strike out.
Bailey Wittenauer had a solid day at the plate, going a perfect 4-for-4 with a double. Alyssa Doyle and Amber Paz also combined equally for six hits, while Stephanie Jonson, MacKenzie Connelly and Halee Myers each had a pair of hits apiece.
Doyle led off the first inning with a single, then stole second to move into scoring position. Paz singled, and Marcum had an RBI groundout to shortstop to bring Doyle in, after which Paz scored on a single by Wittenauer. The sophomore tacked on another run as Stephanie and Connelly put up back-to-back hits, giving ISU an early 4-0 advantage.
In the second inning, Kacy Kestner started off with a single and stole two bases to score on a pass ball. After Kellie Szablewski reached on an error, Paz and Wittenauer chipped in a pair of singles for two additional runs, and the Sycamores led 7-0.
Indiana State added two more runs in the fourth, as Doyle and Wittenauer both scored on a trio of hits. The fifth inning saw Myers notch a single, pinch hitter Alex Woody also single and Doyle reach with a hit, loading the bases for Paz. The senior then sent a hit to center, scoring Myers, and Marcum did the same to plate Szablewski. A Wittenauer double up the middle brought in Doyle and Paz, and Connelly's single to left score Marcum. The Sycamores batted around, as Myers singled to right for the final run from Wittenauer, nailing down the 14-0 victory.
Detroit had just one hit for the game, a single by Erica Houthoofd in the first, and was held hitless for the remainder of the game.
GAME 2 - Fairfield 3, Indiana State 1
ISU's eight-game win streak was snapped against Fairfield, as the Stags took a 3-1 win. Meagan McCurdy (4-2) took the loss, throwing seven innings and surrendering four hits with three strikeouts and one walk. Fairfield's Sarah Minice earned the complete-game win.
Fairfield jumped out early with a 2-0 lead, and ISU's offensive effort produced a run in the bottom of the fourth. Alex Lucas led off with a double to right field, and Wittenauer's flyball to center advanced a pinch-running Myers to third. Connelly then came through with a single up the middle to score Myers and put the Sycamores on the board.
The Stags, however, added an insurance run in the fifth to seal the 3-1 win. Connelly finished 2-for-3 at the plate, while Doyle and Lucas each tallied a hit.
Indiana State returns to action on Tuesday, March 9, facing Lehigh at 9 a.m. (ET) and Loyola Chicago at 11 a.m.
