Illinois Hits Wall on Final Day in Houston

Feb. 22, 2015

HOUSTON, Texas - Illinois traveled to Houston, Texas, for the team's third tournament in as many weekends to open the spring. The Illini started hot on the weekend, putting up a combined 22 runs over the first two games, which resulted in a pair of wins. As the weekend continued, the weather began to impact play, causing delays and a postponement in games. The Fighting Illini finished 2-3 in at the Houston Hilton Plaza Classic, closing on a three-game slide.

"We had a great start to the weekend," opened head coach Terri Sullivan. "Our offense was potent, our pitching staff was efficient and our defense was strong at every position. We lost that level of play at the end of the weekend.

"There were a lot of delays in our latter games, and it looked like it affected us. We split with two tough teams, New Mexico and Houston, beating each in the first meeting. We now need to find the consistency in our game that is key at this level. We have a great opportunity to do that next weekend with five more games in Florida. I know this team will critically evaluate their individual performances and collectively come back in the right frame of mind and hungry."

Illini Can't Complete Comeback in Postponed Contest with Islanders

Box Score (PDF)

Despite putting three unanswered runs on the board over the final three innings, the Fighting Illini softball team could not recover from a five-run third inning by Texas A&M-Corpus Christi and fell by a final score of 6-4 in the rain-postponed game from Saturday, Feb. 21. Illinois fell to 5-9 on the 2015 campaign after finishing the contest that began at 1 p.m. on Saturday.

Illinois was able to get on the board in the opening inning after Allie Bauch dropped a double into right field. Alyssa Gunther laid down a sacrifice bunt to advance Bauch to third base. Next up, Ruby Rivera brought Bauch home to take a 1-0 lead as the Islanders came up to bat.

Texas A&M-Corpus Christi answered with a run of its own in the bottom of the frame on a solo home run. Both sides then posted blanks in the second inning to enter the third in a 1-1 tie.

In the bottom of the third inning, the Islanders posted five runs on six hits and left two more runners on base, which ultimately sank the Illinois crew.

In the top of the fourth inning the decision was made to postpone the game due to rain and poor field conditions. Brittany Sanchez was at the plate with a full count to lead off the inning when the call was made.

When play resumed on Sunday, Breanna Wonderly relieved Shelese Arnold. Arnold registered three innings pitched with two strikeouts. Wonderly did not allow a hit or run during the nine batters she faced, sitting the Cougars down in order. Neither the Illini nor the Islanders plated a run in the fourth inning.

Leigh Farina singled to lead off the top of the fifth inning and Bauch followed with a double to drive in the run for a 6-2 scoreboard reading. Illinois' remaining offense came in the top of the seventh frame. Bauch crushed a home run to center field on the first pitch. Jess Perkins reached base on an error that brought Rivera, who had singled to get on base, across the plate. Rivera's single extended her hitting streak to 10 games.

Hosts Prove Too Much for Illini in 12-2 Decision

Box Score (PDF)

The Fighting Illini fell behind by a pair of runs in the opening frame and ultimately lost the contest by a 12-2 score to Houston on Sunday, Feb. 22. The loss was Illinois' third straight and dropped the Illini to 5-10 overall on the 2015 season. Conditions were the best of the weekend with just a slight breeze and the sun shining bright.

Illinois was able to get on the board in the top of the third inning to cut the deficit in half at 2-1. However, the Cougars quickly responded in the next half-inning with a two-run home run to take a 4-1 lead.

In the top of the fourth inning, Illinois was able to score another run coming off of a Nicole Evans home run. Carly Thomas was left on base after producing an infield single. Houston opened the bottom of the frame and quickly put the contest out of reach. The Cougars plated eight runners on just six hits and a trio of Illinois errors as they batted through the order.

Illinois split games with Houston this weekend with the Sunday loss to the Cougars. Back on Friday night, the Illini topped the hosts by a 10-7 mark. The Orange and Blue also split the series with New Mexico, picking up the 12-4 win on Friday, but falling by the same margin in the only game that was finished on Saturday.

Wonderly took the loss to fall to 2-4 on the season. The sophomore was unable to record an out on the mound and was relieved by Arnold after allowing a pair of earned runs. Kate Giddens closed out the game on the mound and registered Illinois' sole strikeout of the game.

The Orange and Blue finished with just three hits in the contest coming from the bats of Bauch, Evans and Farina. Additionally, Illinois left a trio of runners on base.

Up next: Illinois will travel to Florida next weekend to add five more contests to their 2015 slate. Sullivan's crew will play a pair of games in Tampa on Friday, Feb. 27, against Georgia Southern and USF. On Saturday, the Illini will face off against East Carolina and Eastern Michigan in Clearwater, while finishing up on Sunday against Florida Gulf Coast.