April 12, 2008
Box Score
URBANA, Ill. - Shortstop Angelena Mexicano smashed her team-leading 14th home run and centerfielder Sarah Bryers added her seventh long ball of the season, but Illinois' late rally fell short as the No. 14 Northwestern Wildcats topped the Illini, 11-6, on Saturday afternoon at Eichelberger Field at Martin Stadium. With the pair of home runs, Illinois has homered in four straight games, going deep twice in three of the four contests.
Bryers led the way for the Orange and Blue, going 2-for-4 with four RBIs. She accounted for all four runs in Illinois' final two innings, clearing the fence in centerfield with a two-run homer in the sixth and driving in a pair of runs in the seventh on the first triple of her career.
"We got behind early but I still felt our offense was going to do a better job today to get back in it, then we let them score every inning for four innings and weren't really able to shut them down until about the fifth," head coach Terri Sullivan said. "Give credit to Northwestern though. Their hitters play with confidence because their pitchers play with confidence and not a lot of balls are put in play against them. Now we just need to move on and focus on our doubleheader against Michigan State tomorrow."
Illinois used four pitchers in the contest, as starter Ashley Wright (5-6) suffered the loss after allowing seven earned runs on six hits through two innings. Claire DeVreese, Christine Christopoulos and Vicky Brown combined for the final five innings, giving up four earned runs on eight hits with five strikeouts.
Northwestern jumped out to a four-run lead on a pair of two-run homers in the first inning and added another run on an RBI-single in the second to go up 5-0.
The Illini got on the board in the second thanks to heads up base-running by pinch runner Becca Ramey. After designated player Hollie Pinchback took a walk, Ramey entered the game and moved around the bases before eventually scoring on a wild pitch to make it 5-1.
The Wildcats tacked on two more runs in the third before Mexicano launched her 41st career home run over the centerfield wall in the bottom half of the inning. Mexicano is now just two home runs shy of tying the school's single-season record, which she and teammate Shanna Diller set last season with 16 each.
Northwestern used a pair of home runs and an RBI-double to put four more runs across in through the final three innings. The Illini refused to go quietly though, collecting six hits and four runs in the last two innings. Wildcat pitcher Lauren Delaney (20-6) stifled Illinois comeback as she worked out of a jam in the sixth then capped off Northwestern's victory by striking out the final batter.
Illinois continues its home stint on Sunday, wrapping up the weekend with a doubleheader against Michigan State. First pitch is set for noon.
