CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. – After falling to Marshall 3-2 in a close contest in game one, Indiana State bounced back with an 8-0 victory over Maine where Lauren Sackett tossed a no-hitter in her collegiate debut. 
  
The Sycamores improve to 2-1 on the season and will close out the weekend tomorrow with another pair of contests beginning with a rematch against Marshall at 11:30 a.m. ET. At 2:00 p.m. ET, ISU will take on Chattanooga in the final game of the trip. 
  
Game One 
In what was a close contest throughout, Indiana State jumped out to an 1-0 lead in the second after Hannah Welch, making her collegiate debut, scored on a Herd error. The Sycamores held on to their one-run lead until the fifth inning when Marshall tied the game at one. 
  
Cassi Newbanks came into the game in the fifth inning with two outs, replacing starter Lexi Benko who exited after being hit with a groundball. Newbanks got a strikeout to limit the Herd to just one run in the frame. Benko finished her day throwing 4.2 innings, striking out five while allowing just three hits and zero walks. 
  
In the top of the sixth inning, Annie Tokarek put ISU back in front 2-1 with an RBI double that scored Isabella Henning. Tokarek had two of the Sycamores three hits in the contest. Marshall took the lead back in the bottom half of the frame, getting an RBI single and a sacrifice fly to go up 3-2 after six innings. 
  
Kennedy Shade got on with a single to right field in the seventh, but Marshall was able to limit ISU from anything else, securing the 3-2 win over the Sycamores. 
  
Newbanks took the loss for Indiana State, finishing with 1.1 innings pitched and two earned runs. The Sycamores finished with three hits while Marshall had five. 
  
Game Two 
Making her first collegiate start, Lauren Sackett got off to a hot start in the circle. She struck out two in the first inning with Annie Tokarek erasing a runner at second to sit Maine down quickly. 
  
After Sackett struck out the side in the second, the Sycamores began their scoring, going up 1-0 on a Kaylee Barrett RBI double that scored Kennedy Shade. Shade had reached with a single and stole second to move into scoring position. Maeve McDonough had a single to center in the frame, collecting her first career collegiate hit. 
  
Sackett recorded her sixth strikeout of the day in the third, bringing the Trees back to the plate where they would extend their lead. Hannah Welch scored on a wild pitch to put ISU up 2-0. Kennedy Shade then drove in Isabella Henning with a fielder's choice to make it 3-0 Sycamores. Shade would then come around to score on a Marshall error to grow ISU's lead to four after three innings. 
  
In the bottom of the fourth, Indiana State kept their bats going with four hits in the frame. Annie Tokarek drove in a pair with a single to center field, putting ISU up 6-0. Morgan Goodrich, who made her collegiate debut on Saturday, scored as well as Abi Chipps. Isabella Henning followed that up with an RBI single to make it a 7-0 ballgame. Shade continued her strong day at the plate, collecting her second RBI of the afternoon with a single to right field which plated Tokarek to put ISU up 8-0 after four. 
  
Lauren Sackett put the finishing touches on her no-hitter, striking out the final Maine batter to finish with eight strikeouts on the day. She allowed just two baserunners, a hit by pitch in the first inning and a walk in the fourth inning. 
  
Sackett's no-hitter is the first since her teammate Lexi Benko threw one in a 9-0 win over Quinnipiac on March 14, 2022. 
  
The Sycamores finished the game with 10 hits, getting knocks from six different players. 
  
ISU Debuts 
Morgan Goodrich, Lauren Sackett, and Hannah Welch all made their collegiate debuts on Saturday. 
  
Next Up 
Indiana State will close out their weekend in Chattanooga on Sunday with a pair of games. ISU will then travel to Tuscaloosa next weekend for the Easton Bama Bash hosted by the University of Alabama which begins on Friday, February 24. 
 
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.