TERRE HAUTE, Ind. – Indiana State softball split a doubleheader against Loyola Chicago on Saturday afternoon at Price Field as the Sycamores took game one while the Ramblers won game two.

The Sycamores (23-26, 10-15) won game one 3-2 in extra innings with a walk-off home run from Annie Tokarek to lead off the eighth inning. Loyola (16-28, 10-16) took game two of the day, winning 9-1 via run-rule in five innings.

The loss in game two clinches a Wednesday game for Indiana State at the MVC Tournament on May 11. Tomorrow's contest will determine if the Sycamores are the #7 or #8 seed.

Game One
The Ramblers jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the top of the first, getting runs from a solo home run as well as an RBI groundout after back-to-back hits got runners in scoring position.

Indiana State got on the board in the bottom of the third inning as Bella Peterson drove home Abi Chipps with a RBI single to center which made it a 2-1 game.

Lexi Benko worked a 1-2-3 inning in the fourth, bringing the Sycamores to bat where Danielle Henning brought home Cassie Thomerson all the way from first to tie the game at two after four innings of play.

Loyola led off the sixth inning with a triple but Indiana State was able to get out of the inning with no damage as Annie Tokarek picked the runner off a third and Lexi Benko set a new career-high with her eighth strikeout of the game to keep it a 2-2 contest.

Benko stranded runners on second and third in the seventh, picking up her ninth and tenth strikeouts of the game as she finished with a career-best 10.

In the bottom of the inning, Abi Chipps led off the frame with a walk and Olivia Patton followed that up with a single to put two runners on with nobody out. Ramblers' starter Peyton Pepkowski struck out three-straight hitters to send the game to extra innings.

Lexi Benko worked a clean seventh, bringing up Annie Tokarek who sent a pitch over the wall in centerfield for a walk-off home run to give the Sycamores a 3-2 victory.

Benko improves to 12-14 with the win, allowing just two runs over eight innings while striking out a career-high 10 batters.

Indiana State finished with nine hits as Peterson, Tokarek, Siwek and Danielle Henning had two hits apiece while Patton had one.

Game Two
Loyola took an early lead in game two, going up 1-0 with a RBI single in the opening frame.

In the bottom of the second, Cassie Thomerson tripled off the wall in center, scoring Danielle Henning to tie the game at one after two innings.

That would be all the scoring for the Sycamores as Loyola scored eight unanswered runs en route to a 9-1 run rule victory after five innings.

The Ramblers scored three runs in the third including a solo shot from Maddie Ebeling which put Loyola up 4-1 through three innings of play.

In the top of the fourth inning, the Ramblers tacked five more runs on the board as the had five hits in the frame to go up 9-1.

Indiana State would put runners on first and second after a Thomerson walk and a Patton single but Loyola was able to retire the final two batters to secure the victory and split the doubleheader.

Sycamores starter Cassi Newbanks went two innings, allowing four runs and taking the loss which drops her record to 5-11 on the season. Hailey Griffin threw 1.2 innings in relief and gave up five runs. Lyndsi Adamson finished out the contest in the circle for ISU, throwing a scoreless 1.1 innings while striking out a batter.

Up Next
The series will conclude tomorrow at noon ET as Indiana State will honor its seniors prior to the contest.

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.