TERRE HAUTE, Ind. – Starting pitcher Kenzie Ihle threw a gem with only one earned run allowed, but Illinois State took advantage of their own dominant pitching and timely Indiana State errors to an 8-1 win to open Valley season on a dreary day at Price Field on Friday afternoon.
 
Ihle (10-6), who fanned four and allowed five hits in 5.2 innings pitched, opened with three scoreless innings for the Sycamores (13-10, 0-1 MVC) before the Redbirds (11-12, 1-0 MVC) took control. Illinois State scored three unearned in the fourth to negate a three-inning 1-0 lead by the Sycamores after a Brooke Mann RBI single in the bottom of the first.
 
Three more Redbird runs came across in the fifth inning, two of them unearned again on consecutive Sycamore throwing errors to make the score 6-1. Illinois State put up two earned on reliever Kylie Stober in the seventh on an RBI single and RBI groundout.
 
Illinois State starter Sarah Finck (8-6) went the distance for the two-hit complete game, striking out five and closing with six scoreless innings – five without yielding a hit to the Sycamores from the third inning onward.
 
Senior Mary Turitto had the other hit for Indiana State on Friday, a rocket through the left side to lead off the second inning.
 
By first pitch, the Sycamores were less than 24 hours from landing in Indianapolis following a week-long trip to Florida – where Indiana State went 5-3.
 
The Sycamores will have a chance to bounce back and take the series with a doubleheader sweep tomorrow in the series finale against the Redbirds. First pitch for Game One will be at noon, with Game Two starting at 2:30 p.m. ET. Fans can watch both games live on ESPN3.
 
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.