CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. – Indiana State softball extended their winning streak to four games with a pair of victories on day one of the 2022 Chattanooga Challenge.
 
Game One
The Sycamores began their weekend with a 12-2 win over Purdue Fort Wayne in five innings.
 
The Indiana State bats got off to a hot start with three home runs in the game's first three innings. After a Bella Peterson walk, Annie Tokarek put one over the left field wall to put the Sycamores in front 2-0 in the top of the first.
 
With the Sycamores still ahead 2-0 in the top of the third, Amanda Guercio homered to lead off the inning to extend the ISU lead to three. Annie Tokarek doubled the very next at-bat which brought up Cassie Thomerson who promptly homered to give Indiana State a five-run lead.
 
Later in the inning, Lexie Siwek singled and later came around to score on a TeAnn Bringle base hit which put ISU up 6-0. Indiana State would score one more in the third with Kennedy Shade coming home to score on a Highlander throw down to second.
 
Indiana State kept the offense rolling in the fourth as Kennedy Shade drove in Thomerson with a double followed by an RBI single from Danielle Henning to put the Trees up 9-0. Next up was Abi Chipps who made it 10-0 after driving in Shade.
 
Thomerson and Maeve McDonough both recorded RBI's in the fifth as the Sycamores took a 12-0 lead into the bottom half of the inning.
 
Cassi Newbanks carried a no-hitter into the fifth inning before Purdue Fort Wayne's Alyson Quinlan put the Mastadons on the board with an RBI triple. Another run would cross the plate for Purdue in the frame but Newbanks closed them out to get her second victory of the season. She finished the game with only one earned run to go along with a career-high six strikeouts.
 
Game Two
After a quick turnaround from their morning contest, Indiana State took on Radford where the Sycamores brought home a 2-0 shutout win.
 
In the top of the first inning, Bella Peterson drove in Olivia Patton with a double to left field to give Indiana State an early 1-0 lead. Peterson moved to the top of the record books with that hit as it put her in first place for RBI's in a career in school history with 121.
 
Indiana State scattered five other hits throughout the afternoon including a pinch-hit RBI single from Isabella Henning in the fifth to give the Sycamores a 2-0 lead.
 
Lexi Benko was dominant in the circle once again as she picked up her second-straight complete game shut out. She struck out a Radford batter looking to end the fifth and sixth innings to escape any damage en route to a four-hit shutout of the Highlanders. Benko finished the afternoon with five strikeouts.
 
Up Next
Day two of the Chattanooga Challenge brings matchups against SIUE and Tennessee Tech. First pitch against the Cougars is slated for 10 a.m. ET at Warner Park.

For the latest information on Sycamore Softball, be sure to visit GoSycamores.com. You can also find the team on social media, including Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and YouTube.