LAS VEGAS – Indiana State fought hard in a spectacular pitcher's duel against Louisville but ultimately fell short, 1-0, to conclude Sycamore Softball's stay in Las Vegas for the 2017 Sportco Kick Off Classic.
 
Both starting pitchers went the distance for the Sycamores (2-3) and Cardinals (4-1), with junior Minnesota transfer Kylie Stober (1-2) yielding just six hits and zero earned runs in seven superb innings. The difference in the game was a second inning RBI triple by Louisville's Nicole Pufahl, who knocked in the unearned Megan Hensley (who reached on an error).
 
Conversely, two-time First-Team All-ACC honoree Maryssa Becker allowed only two hits and struck out four Sycamores in a dominant performance – retiring her first eight batters and not yielding a hit until freshman Becky Malchow reached on a bunt single with one out in the fourth inning.
 
Stober, though, worked out of several jams today to keep the Sycamores within striking distance. ISU's best chance came in the bottom of the sixth, where a Kassie Martin bunt single started a rally that ended with two stranded in scoring position.
 
Today's game wraps an impressive weekend for the Sycamores in Las Vegas. ISU went 2-3 with big wins over UNLV (11-5) and CSU Bakersfield (11-4), and narrow one-run losses to Virginia Tech (4-3) and Louisville (6-5, nine innings; 1-0).
 
Indiana State will take next week off before a trip to Western Kentucky for the WKU Hilltopper Spring Fling on Feb. 24-25, with games vs. IUPUI, WKU, Wright State and Austin Peay.
 
For the latest information on the Sycamore Softball team, make sure to check out GoSycamores.com. You can also find the team on social media including Facebook and Twitter.