PEORIA, Ill. ? Bradley senior pitcher Ashley Birdsong (Otis, Ore./Taft H.S.) pitched eight scoreless innings and struck out nine batters to break the Bradley career strikeout record, helping the Braves to a 2-0 victory in eight innings over Illinois State in the nightcap of Sunday's Missouri Valley Conference doubleheader at Laura Bradley Park. The Redbirds won game one, 5-2.

Needing four strikeouts to break the Bradley career record of 702 held by Beth Hawkins, Birdsong punched out nine Redbirds on Sunday. The senior hurler struck out Illinois State left fielder Jessie Buker for the second out in the midst of a bases-loaded jam in the third inning to break the record, then followed with another strikeout to get the Braves out of the inning with the scoreless tie intact.

After neither team plated a run through seven innings, Bradley (9-9 overall, 1-2 MVC) came through with a pair of runs in the top of the eighth. Junior third baseman Lauren Meister (Downers Grove, Ill./Downers Grove South H.S.) led off the frame with a single down the right field line. Pinch runner Anne Creighton (Glide, Ore./Glide H.S.) moved to second base one batter later on a sacrifice bunt from freshman right fielder Julie Sherman (Hickory Hills, Ill./Stagg H.S.).

Junior center fielder Amanda Clack (Hillsboro, Ill./Hillsboro H.S.) followed with an RBI single to right field, scoring Creighton from second after the Illinois State throw home was dropped by ISU catcher Casey Gorrell. Clack later scored on an RBI single from senior Miriam Wegmann (St. Louis, Mo./Oakville H.S.), giving the Braves a 2-0 lead. Birdsong yielded a leadoff single from Gorrell in the bottom half of the inning, but retired the next three batters in order to secure the shutout victory for the Braves.

Birdsong was the winning pitcher for the Braves to move to 5-4 on the year. She allowed five hits in the eight-inning shutout, walking only one. One day removed from the being the winning pitcher in the series opener, Amber Smith took the loss to fall to 3-6.

In game one, Illinois State (13-10 overall, 2-1 MVC) scored four times in the bottom of the second inning to build a 4-0 lead. Bradley sophomore starter Katie Dennis (Gilbert, Ariz./Mesquite Ariz.) allowed the first four batters in the inning to reach base, leaving the game before recording an out in the inning. Each of the four base runners came around to score and were charged to Dennis, the final two scoring against relief pitcher Clack.

Bradley battled back to score single runs in the fourth and fifth innings. Wegmann crushed her first home run of the season and second of her BU career in the fourth, while senior first baseman Alycia Bachkora (Overland Park, Kan./Notre Dame de Sion) doubled to lead off the fifth inning and later scored an unearned run to draw the Braves within two at 4-2. The Redbirds added insurance in the sixth in the form of an RBI single from Smith to build a 5-2 lead that would stand as the final score.

Wegmann and Bachkora recorded the only two hits for the Braves, while Dennis took the loss in the circle to drop to 3-4 on the campaign. ISU starter Jordan Birch won her seventh game of the year, allowing just one earned run in a complete game effort. Smith went 4-for-4 with four singles as the designated player in game one, as the Redbirds outhit the Braves 7-2.

Bradley will return to action Tuesday with a doubleheader at Tennessee Tech. First pitch in Cookeville, Tenn. is scheduled for 3 p.m.