IOWA CITY, Iowa – Through the first nine innings of Tuesday's midweek game in Iowa City, Illinois State and Iowa were locked in a 0-0 tie thanks to strong pitching from both squads. However, the Redbirds (13-25) were able to push two runs across the plate in the top half of the tenth inning and held on in the bottom half to pick up a 2-1 win over the Hawkeyes (22-15) at Bob Pearl Field.

The win gave the Redbirds their first over a Big Ten Conference foe since April 18, 2023, when they defeated Illinois by a score of 3-2 in Champaign. With the win, the Redbirds have now won six out of their last eight contests overall.

BIRDS BITS (vs. Iowa)

Offensive Highlights: 
Julia Larson: 2-for-4, 1 R, 1 RBI
Abby Knight: 2-for-4
Bella Wilkerson: 1-for-1, 1 RBI
Ella Boyer: 1-for-3, 1 BB, 1 2B

Pitching Breakdown:
Gracelyn Kemp: 7.0 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 2 BB, 3 K
Hannah Meeks (W, 6-4): 2.1 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 2 BB, 0 K
Hannah Meshnick (S, 3): 0.2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 2 K

HOW IT HAPPENED
Both teams struggled to find runs through the first nine innings of the game, thanks to strong pitching performances in the circle and good defense by both teams, highlighted by a diving catch in centerfield by Tatum Wolford to take away a would be double from the Hawkeyes late in the game. Once the game moved to the 10th inning, the international tie breaker went into effect and Adisyn Hopkins was placed on second base. She moved to third on a sac bunt by Wolford and then came around to score on a RBI single by Larson that broke the tie and gave the Redbirds a 1-0 lead. Boyer then walked and Wilkerson came to the plate as a pinch hitter and roped a single to centerfield to score Larson to make it 2-0. 

The Hawkeyes would threaten in the bottom half of the tenth, cutting the Redbird lead in half at 2-1 on a one-out single. That's when Meshnick came into the game and picked up a crucial strikeout for the second out of the game, before loading the bases on a walk. However, she would not let the game get away and struck out the final batter of the game swinging to pick up her third save of the year and secure the victory for the Redbirds.

ON DECK
The Redbirds will head to Indiana this weekend for a three-game conference series with Valparaiso, beginning at 3 p.m. on Friday.

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