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March 18, 2007

Box Score

NORMAL, Ill. - The University of Northern Iowa softball team fell 7-0 to No. 17 Illinois State on Sunday, as Redbird pitcher Stacy Birk's one-hitter and a pair of home runs helped the Redbirds complete a three-game sweep of the Panthers.

A day after putting up 12 runs and 18 hits in a doubleheader against the Redbirds (23-6, 3-0 Missouri Valley Conference), UNI found offense hard to come by.  The Panthers (12-14, 0-3 MVC) tagged Birk for eight runs on 10 hits in Saturday's opener, but the right-hander exacted her revenge in the series finale.

Birk held the Panthers scoreless for the complete-game win and held them without a hit for 6 1/3 innings.. She lost her bid for a perfect game in the top of the sixth, with Ashley Lepley (Albia, Iowa/Albia) earning a walk to become the Panthers' first baserunner.  Stephanie Aguero (Muscatine, Iowa/Muscatine) then broke up Birk's no-hitter with a one-out double in the seventh, her team-best eighth of the season.

Starting pitcher Jen Larsen (Moline, Ill./Moline) only allowed Illinois State's stout lineup five hits, but the Redbirds made the most of those by tagging the freshman for four earned runs with a pair of home runs in the third inning.

The teams combined for just one hit over the first 2 1/3 innings, but the Redbirds strung together four straight two-out hits to jump on the board first in the bottom of the third frame. 

Tiffany Prager snuck a single up the middle past a diving Megan Machovec (DeWitt, Iowa/Central) and the Illinois State lineup then came to life. Amber Smith followed with a two-run home run to right-center field to give the Redbirds a 2-0 edge, and Jessie Buker quickly doubled that lead to 4-0 with a two-run shot of her own.

Buker's blast was a carbon copy of Smith's to right-center and plated Kelsey Warning, who had doubled to left one batter earlier.

The home runs gave the Redbirds nine for the weekend series and marked the third time in three games Illinois State tallied multiple homers in the same inning.  The Panthers and Redbirds combined for 13 homers in the three-game series.

More two-out hitting to right-center allowed Illinois State to extend its lead to 6-0 in the fifth, as Stacy Birk drove a double to the gap that plated Prager and Smith.

The Panthers return to action on Thursday (March 22), hosting North Dakota State in their home opener at Panther Park.  The doubleheader with the Bison is set to begin at 1 p.m., with the second game slated for approximately 3 p.m.