URBANA, Ill. – A six-run first inning and a two-hit shutout performance from junior pitcher Jade Vecvanags propelled the Illinois softball team to an 8-0 run-rule victory in five innings over Iowa on NFCA StrikeOut Cancer Day at Eichelberger Field on Sunday (May 1).
The Illini, who have won four-straight, improve to 31-19 on the season and 10-10 in the Big Ten Conference, while the Hawkeyes drop to 13-35 and 3-17 in the league standings.
Vecvanags (11-10) pitched all five innings for the Illini, allowing just two hits in the contest and striking out two in the outing.
The Illini jumped on the Hawkeyes from the get-go as senior Allie Bauch led off the opening frame with a solo shot to right field, her sixth home run of the season. The Orange and Blue then added runs on a sacrifice fly from sophomore Annie Fleming, an RBI groundout from sophomore Carly Thomas and two Iowa errors that plated three Illini runs.
After three scoreless innings, the Illini finished off the Hawkeyes with a pair of runs in the bottom of the fifth as junior Nicole Evans notched her team-leading 46th RBI of the season on a single to right centerfield, followed by Iowa's eighth miscue of the game to bring in junior Alyssa Gunther to end the game.
The Illini totaled eight hits in the win, while the Hawkeyes notched two hits and committed eight errors in the loss. Evans went 2-for-4 with a run and an RBI for the Illini, while Gunther added two hits and two runs.
Shayla Starkenburg (4-14) took the loss after allowing six runs, four earned, on three hits in just 0.2 innings pitched. Ashley Yoways and Erin Riding both saw relief action in the circle for the Hawkeyes.
The Fighting Illini will next wrap up their 2016 home slate with their final home game of the season on Wednesday (May 4) as they welcome in Indiana State for a midweek game beginning at 5 p.m. CT in Eichelberger Field.
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