DES MOINES, Iowa – Indiana State softball continued Missouri Valley Conference play on Friday, defeating Drake 3-1 in the series opener at Buel Field.
The Sycamores (15-12, 4-0) picked up their fourth straight MVC win on the year while Drake (6-18, 0-4) has dropped their first four conference matchups.
The Action
Lexi Benko started in the circle for ISU and got three quick groundouts in the first to keep the game scoreless after one inning.
Kaylee Barrett got the Sycamores first hit of the game in the second but was called out for leaving first base early which retired the side for the Trees in the frame. Drake started their half of the second with back-to-back singles before Lexi Benko struck out the next three batters to end the Bulldog threat.
In the top of the third, Indiana State would jump out in front with two runs in the frame. Abi Chipps led off the inning with a single and would come around to score on an Olivia Patton RBI double down the left field line to make it 1-0 ISU. Danielle Henning followed Patton with an RBI double to left of her own, easily scoring Patton to put the Sycamores up 2-0.
Drake would get on the board in the bottom of the third, getting an RBI double from Emily Valtman to make it a 2-1 game. Benko was able to strand a runner on second and limit the damage to retire the side with ISU still leading 2-1.
The Sycamores continued to rack up hits in the fourth, getting an RBI double from TeAnn Bringle after Annie Tokarek started the inning with a single. Tokarek was pinch ran for by Hannah Welch who scored on the Bringle double to put ISU up 3-1. Abi Chipps reached on an infield single followed by an Olivia Patton walk to load the bases, but Indiana State couldn't get another run across in the frame.
Lexi Benko continued her strong outing in the bottom of the fourth, getting a swinging strikeout to finish off another 1-2-3 inning as the Sycamores remained in the lead 3-1.
Kennedy Shade gave Indiana State their eighth hit of the contest with a single to right in the fifth. Cassie Thomerson's groundball then hit Shade on the basepaths, which rules Shade out and retired the side for Drake in the inning.
In the bottom half of the frame, Benko was replaced after 4.2 innings, finishing with five strikeouts while allowing just one run on four hits and a walk. Lauren Sackett entered and got a groundball out to retire the Bulldogs in the fifth.
In the top of the sixth for the Sycamores, TeAnn Bringle and Olivia Patton each drew a walk to put ISU in scoring position, but Drake was able to get a groundout to keep the score at 3-1.
Sackett remained in the circle for ISU in the sixth, getting into some trouble with runners getting on second and third but she was able to get out of the jam. Annie Tokarek corralled a wild pitch and tagged a runner trying to score out for the second out of the inning. Sackett then got a fly ball to center to end the inning and keep Indiana State's 3-1 intact.
Drake would load the bases in the bottom of the seventh with one out, forcing Indiana State to go back to its bullpen for Hailey Griffin. Griffin would get a pop up and a strikeout to slam the door shut and give the Sycamores the victory.
Indiana State finished with nine hits while Drake had seven. Abi Chipps and Annie Tokarek both had multi-hit games for ISU.
Lexi Benko gets the win and improves to 7-3 on the season while Hailey Griffin gets her second save of the year.
Up Next
The series scheduled has shifted as the remaining two games will now be played as a doubleheader beginning at 2 p.m. ET on Saturday, March 25.
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.
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