Feb. 21, 2015Box Score (PDF)
HOUSTON, Texas - Illinois claimed their fourth-straight victory in a 10-7 decision over the host, Houston, in the final contest of the evening in the Houston Hilton Plaza Classic on Friday, Feb. 20. The Illini climbed to a 5-7 overall record with the win and are still unbeaten in Houston.
"We did a good job tonight of striking back and never letting the momentum shift for long," shared head coach Terri Sullivan. "Evans, Rivera, Bauch and Gunther really did an outstanding job for us at the top of the lineup and Perkins and Sanchez got some two out hits later in the game that kept the pressure on Houston."
Nicole Evans posted five RBIs in Illinois' second win of the day. Despite getting thrown out trying for a triple in the opening frame, Evans drove in two of her runs on the play to give Illinois the early lead.
Houston answered in the bottom of the second inning with two runs of their own to knot the game at two, but Illinois would then explode for six runs in the top of the third inning to put the game out of reach. Evans brought in the first three Illini runs of the frame with a three-run shot to straight away center. The Orange and Blue registered five hits in the inning and stranded a pair of runners.
Breanna Wonderly faced two Cougars in the bottom of the third frame before being relieved by Shelese Arnold. Wonderly took a seat with an 8-3 advantage after just two innings of work. Arnold picked up the win in her evening relief appearance where she registered five strikeouts.
"Breanna and Shelese teamed up well, once again, and we saw Shey get stronger as the game continued," added Sullivan. "Our outfielders also came up big tonight as Carly and Coley held some big hitters to singles with great reads."
Houston struck again in the fourth inning, turning in two runs worth of damage to pull within three at 8-5. After a scoreless sixth frame, Illinois added a pair of insurance runs to take a 10-5 advantage. The Cougars brought in a run in both the sixth and seventh innings but the Illini prevailed to add another win to their streak.
Ruby Rivera has now collected a hit in the last eight games and is currently hitting .421 on the season, leading Illinois with 16 hits and 12 runs scored. Rivera, along with Evans, accounted for the pair of Illinois home runs in the contest.
The wins over New Mexico and Houston were Illinois' first Friday wins on the season (2-4). Illinois is also now 4-0 when scoring in the first inning and 3-0 when recording 10 or more runs in a game.
Next up: Illinois is slated for a twin bill tomorrow, Saturday, Feb. 21, starting at 10 a.m. CST against New Mexico (6-7). Action against Texas A&M-Corpus Christi (1-11-1) has a first pitch scheduled for 12:30 p.m.
