MEMPHIS, Tenn. – Indiana State softball split a pair of games for the second straight day, defeating Butler then falling to UT Martin on Saturday at the Blues City Classic in Memphis.
 
Game One
Indiana State (10-7) started off the day with a wire-to-wire victory over Butler, winning 7-1 Saturday morning.

With one out in the first inning, Bella Peterson ripped a stand-up triple to right. The Sycamores would strike first when Peterson caught the Bulldog defense sleeping and came home to score after a Cassie Thomerson walk.
 
Still holding onto 1-0 lead entering the fourth inning, the Sycamore offense broke open the game with a six-run explosion.
 
Kennedy Shade started the action with a leadoff home run over the wall in left center to put ISU up 2-0. Danielle Henning would draw a walk followed by an infield single from Olivia Patton to put two runners on with nobody out. With one away in the inning, Bella Peterson singled to right field to score Henning and extend the lead to 3-0.
 
Following a Butler pitching change, Cassie Thomerson kept the hit parade going with an RBI single to left which scored Patton. With the Sycamores leading 4-0, Annie Tokarek hit a line drive to center which would score Thomerson and Peterson to make a 6-0 Sycamore lead. Lexie Siwek put the finishing touches on the six-run inning with an RBI groundout to score Isabella Henning.
 
Butler would cut into the lead in the top of the fifth with a two-out RBI single, making it a 7-1 game.
The Bulldogs put runners on second and third in the top of seventh with just one out, but Lexi Benko got a strikeout and a fly out to end the threat and secure the win for the Sycamores.
 
Indiana State collected a season-high 13 hits in the game, including four multi-hit efforts. Olivia Patton finished 3-for-3, Annie Tokarek went 3-for-4 with Bella Peterson and Isabella Henning both having two hits apiece.
 
Benko went the distance on the mound, striking out two while giving up just one run in seven innings of work. She improves to 5-3 on the season with the win.
 
Game Two
The Sycamores dropped the night cap, falling 10-4 against UT Martin.

ISU had an early lead, going up 1-0 in the first inning on an Isabella Henning RBI single that scored Bella Peterson.
 
UT Martin loaded the bases in the top of the third following a Sycamore error, but Cassi Newbanks was able to get a pop out and a strikeout to keep the Skyhawks off the board.
 
Following a 1-2-3 inning from the Sycamore offense in the bottom of the third, Newbanks picked up her fourth strikeout during a 1-2-3 inning of her own in the fourth.
 
With one away in the bottom of the fourth, Cassie Thomerson drew a leadoff walk followed by a double down the left field line by Kennedy Shade. After a Siwek groundout, Danielle Henning delivered a two-out single to center that scored Thomerson and Shade to give Indiana State a 3-0 lead.
 
The Skyhawks responded in a big way, scoring five runs in the fifth on five hits. A pair of Sycamore errors in the inning proved costly as UT Martin took a 5-3 lead.
 
Abi Chipps drew a walk in the bottom half of the frame, but ISU couldn't get anything going, hitting into an inning ending double play.
 
UT Martin would extend their lead in the sixth with three more runs to go up 8-3. A pair of one-out walks followed by a double down the left field line got two across with the third run later scoring on a wild pitch.
 
Indiana State would go 1-2-3 in the sixth to send the Skyhawks back to the plate where they added to their lead with a two-run home run in the seventh to make it a 10-3 ballgame.
 
Danielle Henning and Annie Tokarek hit back-to-back doubles in the bottom of the seventh for the Sycamores, with Henning coming home to score on a throwing error to cut into the Skyhawk lead.
 
That's all the Sycamores would get in the final frame, with UT Martin closing it out to win 10-4.
 
Cassi Newbanks started for ISU and gave up one earned run across 4.2 innings while striking out four. Hailey Griffin allowed five earned runs in her 2.1 innings of work. Newbanks takes the tough-luck loss, moving her record to 3-4 on the season.
 
Danielle Henning was the only Sycamore with a multi-hit game, going 2-for-3 with a pair of RBIs.
 
Around The Horn
-The Sycamores 13 hits against Butler is a season high, breaking the previous high of 12 which they did against Stetson on the opening weekend of the season.
 
-Kennedy Shade's solo home run against Butler was the first of her collegiate career.
 
-Shade is the fifth different Sycamore to homer this season.
 
-Indiana State now leads the all-time series 33-19 over the Bulldogs.
 
-Indiana State is 3-0 against opponents from Indiana this season.
 
-The loss to UT Martin moves the all-time series to 7-3 in favor of ISU.

Up Next
Indiana State will finish the weekend with a 1:30 p.m. ET matchup against Memphis on Sunday at the Tiger Softball Complex.

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.