Feb. 11, 2011
Illinois-UTSA Box Score | Illinois-Baylor Box Score
WACO, Texas - The University of Illinois softball team dropped both games on the first day of the Getterman Classic, falling to the University of Texas-San Antonio, 11-10, and Baylor, 4-1. The Illini battled back and forth with the Roadrunners in the first game of the year before falling short against Baylor in the second half of Friday's doubleheader slate.
"The team is ready and prepared to get out there again tomorrow. On opening day you're excited but you have to be ready to play good softball," Illinois head coach Terri Sullivan said. "We beat ourselves today by not playing solid defense on routine plays and fundamentals and we know we will fix that. Offensively, we exploded in the first game but gave a lot of runs and momentum to both opponents. We have got to play better softball tomorrow and we know we will do that."
Game One: UTSA 11, #24 Illinois 10
Illinois dropped a heartbreaker to Texas-San Antonio, 11-10, as UTSA scored five unanswered runs in the final two innings to mount a furious comeback in the season-opening contest for both teams. Texas-San Antonio took the lead for good with two outs in the top of the seventh when Ashley Kappler connected for a two-run single down the left field line, scoring Sierra Sproul and Haylee Staton.
In the final frame, Jessica Davis led off with a double for the Illini as the Orange and Blue looked for some late-game magic. Nikki Simpson entered the game as a pinch-runner for Davis at second, reached third on a groundout to first by Jackie Guy but was thrown out at home on Audrey Gallien's grounder to second base.
The Illini struck first, scoring four runs in the bottom of the second inning to take an early 4-0 lead. Guy earned her first collegiate extra base hit with a double down the left field line. With Alex Booker on second as a pinch runner for Guy, Audrey Gallien drove Booker in with an RBI single to break the scoreless tie. Gallien went on to score as a result of a UTSA field error during a stolen base attempt by Kelley Wedel, who followed Gallien with a single. Ashley Conrad stepped in and drilled a triple to right-center field to plate her first RBI and increase the Illinois lead to 3-0. Two batters later, Conrad raced home when Danielle Vaji was picked off stealing second base after drawing a walk to increase the lead to 4-0.
"We needed momentum and I had two runners on," said center fielder Ashely Conrad on her approach during her home run at bat. "I had [Danielle] Vaji and [Danielle] Zymkowitz batting after me so I wasn't looking for the home run, I was just looking to get on base."
UTSA answered in the following frame, tallying five runs to take a 5-4 lead into the bottom of the third. Staton scored on an RBI single by Caitlyn Ivy to cut the Illinois lead to 4-1 before Molly Fichtner drove a grand slam over the left field fence for UTSA's first lead of the day.
After the Roadrunners tacked on one more run in the fourth on a fielding error, the Illini responded in the bottom of the fourth to re-take the lead, 7-6. Guy and Wedel singled to center to put runners on first and second for Conrad. When UTSA replaced starting pitcher Emily Humpal with Staton, Conrad crushed her first home run of the season to right field.
The Illini extended their lead back to four runs in the next frame, with Hollie Pinchback singling through the right side to start off the inning. Meredith Hackett followed Pinchback with a double before Davis plated both runners with a single to right-center field. After Staton retired Guy and Gallien, Davis scored when UTSA center fielder Laura Little mishandled a pitch put in play by Wedel to push the lead to 10-6.
UTSA scratched out two runs in the sixth and three in the seventh to complete their comeback. In the top of the sixth, Staton reached base on an error to lead off the inning, scoring on an RBI single by Carrie Monroe. Fichtner followed with an RBI single, plating Monroe, to cut the Illini lead in half. In their final frame, UTSA used four singles to plate three runners and force the Orange and Blue to bat in the bottom of the seventh.
Conrad led the Illinois offense, going 2-for-3 with four RBIs and two runs scored. Davis, Guy and Wedel also recorded two-hit games for the Orange and Blue as every Illini batter recorded at least one hit.
Game Two: Baylor 4, #24 Illinois 1
Baylor took the lead in the second inning by plating three runs. After Leal led off the inning with a walk, Holl reached on an infield single and Vannatta walked to load the bases with no outs. After Gay struck out Redfearn, Hosack worked a walk to break the scoreless tie. Two batters later, Hosack and Vannatta scored on a fielding error to push the Bears lead to 3-0.
Gay dueled with Bears' starting pitcher Whitney Canion throughout the remainder of the game, holding Baylor to only two hits in her final four innings of work. Gay did not give up an extra base hit in the game, striking out five while only allowing two earned runs in six innings.
"The main thing was playing aggressive and pitching to the batters," said pitcher Pepper Gay of limiting a versatile Baylor lineup and working with runners on. "It was important to stay ahead [in the count] and work ahead of their batters. We knew our defense and pitching could shut them down but we just didn't get our rally going."
The Illini got on the board in the top of the sixth as Pinchback opened the inning with a home run to right field. Hackett followed with a double down the left field line; however, the Illini would not get any closer. Davis popped up to second base before Guy walked to put runners on first and second. Wedel lined into a double play to end the inning, with Guy caught off the base during the play.
Up Next: Illinois (0-2) returns to action in the Getterman Classic on Saturday, Feb. 12 with a 10 a.m. contest against McNeese State (0-1). All four teams will be seeded based on tournament results to decide the final four games of the weekend. For Saturday's match-ups, the top seeded program faces the fourth-ranked team at 3 p.m., while the second and third seeded teams face off at 5:30 p.m.
