April 2, 2006
Game 1 Box Score
Game 2 Box Score
Urbana, Ill. -
Sunday was one of perseverance for Illinois. Morning rain and still more threatening skies made fans wonder if any softball was going to be played at Eichelberger Field. Thanks to mother nature and the efforts of the grounds crews games were played.
The theme carried over into the games where Illinois fell behind early twice only to rally to get back into the games. After dropping the opener 12-7, the Illini fought back to win the second game 11-5. The win in the second was important for Illinois, not only to gain some momentum, but also to keep the Illini (14-18, 1-3 in the Big Ten) in the race for position in the Big Ten Tournament.
"There was never a doubt that we wouldn't stop scoring," said sophomore shortstop Angelena Mexicano, who had a combined six RBI on the day. Mexicano was 3-for-8 with her fifth home run and a pair of doubles to give her a team-leading 12 two-baggers on the year.
Junior Molly Lawhead was the model of positive attitude. Despite struggling in the first two games of weekend, both losses to Iowa, Lawhead had a positive influence on her teammates on Sunday. "Molly showed some emotional energy and leadership from the moment she arrived to the field and carried that into the game," said Illini Head Coach Terri Sullivan.
Lawhead was a combined 6-for-8 with her fifth home run, her 11th stolen base, four runs scored and two RBI. In the two games, Lawhead led off the inning five times and reached base all five times.
Jenna Hall was intentionally walked four times on Sunday and 11 times for the weekend. When she finally did get a chance to swing the bat, Hall was 3-for-5 with a home run, her team-leading tenth of the season, and two runs scored to raise her season average to .494.
Illinois fought from behind in both games. The Badgers took a 5-0 lead in game one with three runs in the first and two more in the second. In the first inning, Katie Hntatyk hit her fourth homer of the year. In the second inning, the Badgers were the beneficiary of three Illinois errors.
Illinois responded with four runs in the bottom of the second inning. The big blow was a two-run home run from Mexicano. Lawhead had led off the inning with a double and scored on a single from Courtney Hoogeveen.
Another Badger home run - off the bat of Alexis Garcia -- sparked a three-run third to put the Badgers in front 8-4. The Illini rallied for a run in the fifth and two more in the sixth to pull to within 8-7, but the Badgers tallied four in the top of the seventh to pull away.
In game two, the Illini spotted Wisconsin a 5-1 lead, then proceeded to score 10 straight runs on 10 hits to pull out the 11-5 victory.
Garcia's second home run of the day, a three-run shot, keyed Wisconsin's four-run second.
Lawhead led off the fourth with a solo home run to make it 5-2. Hall's homer and an RBI single from Lawhead cut the margin to 5-4 after five. The Illini sent 10 batters to the plate in the sixth, scoring five times. Mexicano's double to left-center scored Lana Armstrong and Coriddi to put the Illini up for good at 6-5. Mexicano's six RBI on the day combined with seven RBI in Tuesday's doubleheader sweep of Loyola give her 13 for the week.
"Angelena got some pressure hits for us," Sullivan said. "She has really matured at the plate."
The Illini took advantage of three Badger errors to extend the lead to 9-5. Shanna Diller put the final nail in the coffin with a two-run single in the seventh.
Claire DeVreese faced the minimum number of batters in the final four innings to pick up the win and improve to 10-8 on the season.
"I really love the fight in this team," Sullivan said. "We always talk about playing the moment and winning innings and that's what happened in the latter part of the weekend."
