IU falters against Illini

The first game of the IU softball team’s doubleheader against No. 19 Illinois was a close loss, but the Fighting Illini’s powerful hitting crushed the Hoosiers in the second contest.

The Illini (35-5, 8-2) beat IU (11-32, 3-10) twice on Wednesday in Bloomington.
As one of the top hitting teams in the Big Ten, Illinois showed its strength with 14 runs on 20 hits.

“The first game we battled back really well and played hard against one of the top 20 teams in the country,” IU freshman infielder Amanda Wagner said.

The Illini won the first game 5-4 after the contest came down to the last outs.

Deep in the game around the sixth inning, the Hoosiers started to come back, but it wasn’t enough.

Illinois sophomore pitcher Monica Perry (19-4) threw eight strikeouts while allowing four runs and 11 hits.

Perry’s performance became shaky in the bottom of the sixth and seventh innings when she surrendered the four runs to IU.

Down 5-4 with the bases loaded, Illini freshman infielder Maria Gillis hit a line drive to right field to give the Illini its 34th win.

Illinois junior outfielder Ashley Conrad went one-for-three with a run and two RBIs in
the game.

IU junior pitcher Sara Olson went two-for-four with three RBIs and a run.

Olson hit a two-run home run in the bottom of the sixth inning.  

In the second game, the Illini won 9-0 in six innings. The pitching of Illinois freshman Pepper Gay powered her squad.

“Second game, the first inning got away from us,” Wagner said. “The game just didn’t go our way.”