Illinois State was down to their last out on Sunday and was looking for a miracle after giving up a 5-2 lead to Wichita State in Normal, Illinois.

The Shockers cut the lead 8-7 with two outs in the bottom of the seventh inning, the Shockers gave the Redbirds three gifts off of their own mistakes in the final inning, with an E-3 and E-6 scoring the final two runs for ISU that cost the Shockers the game 9-8.

Wichita State, whose eight-game winning streak was snapped on Sunday, climbed back into the game during the fifth inning after being down by three runs. After Mackenzie Wright scored off a Redbird error, Liz Broyles hit a double to left field that brought in the two tying runs for the Shockers.

Laurie Ann Derrico’s double allowed Cacy Williams to score the lead run, and Derrico was brought in from second off a single by Brittany Fortner. Kelli Spring added an insurance run with an RBI single that scored Ashley Johnson from second base.

With the bases loaded, an Illinois State batter was hit by a Jenni Brooks pitch in the bottom of the seventh inning, cutting the Shockers lead to 8-7. The Redbirds scored off two errors by Wichita State that ended the game for the Shockers in defeat.

In Saturday’s first game, the Shockers came out firing with eight first inning runs. Williams and Derrico’s singles brought in the first three runs of the game, while Cassidy Kelsheimer was hit by a pitch to score another Shocker run.

After a Spring walk scored another Wichita State run, an error by Illinois State brought in two more Shocker runs and later the damage would be added by a groundout from Wright that scored the eighth run of the inning.

The Redbirds scored six unanswered runs through the seventh inning, but Katie Malone came onto the mound to pitch the final two-thirds of the inning for the Shockers, not allowing a hit with one strikeout to get the save in the Shockers’ game one win 8-6.

A high scoring first inning on both sides left the score tied 5-5 at the top of the second inning of the second game in Saturday’s doubleheader. A solo shot by Fortner and a three run home run by Williams quickly gave the Shockers the lead back in the second inning.

Solo shots by Paige Luellen in the fourth inning and Derrico in the fifth gave the Shockers an 11-5 lead in the second game. Later in the fifth inning, Luellen added a single that sent in two WSU runs. Macklin Hitz scored the final run in the Shockers’ game two victory by hitting a single that would score Luellen from second.

WSU only allowed one more Redbird run to score in the fifth inning, ending the game in victory 14-6 in five innings Saturday.

The Shockers (20-13) travel to Norman, Oklahoma, on Wednesday to take on No. 14 ranked Oklahoma, and will then travel to Evansville, Indiana, for a three game conference series against Evansville, beginning with a doubleheader Saturday.