Three Home Runs Can't Counter Seven-Run Fourth

March 8, 2015

Los Angeles, Calif. - Illinois hurler Jade Vecvanags had a no-hitter going through three innings, but an explosive bottom of the fourth for Providence led the Friars (1-7) to their first victory of the season. Illinois hit three home runs in the game, but they were not enough to overcome the seven-run fourth, as the Illini (8-15), dropped the final game of the Stacy Winsberg Memorial Tournament, 8-5.

"We out-hit our opponent again and had an exciting seventh inning with two balls going out of the park for us," said head coach Terri Sullivan. "Our pitchers are getting back to throwing aggressive pitches. We allowed the one big inning again today, that has been our Achilles heel in these early tournaments. We eliminate those and we are awfully tough. We plan to do just that as we head into the second part of our schedule where consistency and composure are key."

Illinois out-hit the Friars 11-6, including home runs by Allie Bauch, Nicole Evans, and Carly Thomas. Bauch's two-run home run in the fourth inning opened the Illini scoring, and with Evans' seventh-inning shot, it marked the eighth time over the past two seasons that another Illini has followed Bauch's lead with the long ball.

Vecvanags (2-3) started on fire for the Illini, but stumbled in the fourth, allowing a total of six runs, four earned, on two hits but four walks over 3.0+ innings. Breanna Wonderly finished out the fourth, giving up two runs, one earned, on three hits, and Shelese Arnold surrendered just one hit over 2.0 scoreless innings to close out the game. Taylor Huntly (1-2) went the distance for Providence, allowing four earned runs on 11 hits and two walks.

The Illini squandered scoring chances early in the game, stranding six runners through the first three innings, including leaving the bases loaded with nobody out in the second. However, Vecvanags held Providence without a hit through the first three frames, to keep the game tied at 0-0.

Bauch opened the scoring in the top of the fourth, drilling a two-run home run to left field to give the Illini a 2-0 lead.

Shanelle Harrell broke up the no-no in the bottom of the fourth with a leadoff single, which sparked a seven-run fourth inning, including a two-run double by Nicole Lundstrom to make it 7-2 Providence after four, and a leadoff home run by Kristie Dederick in the fifth tacked on another insurance run for the Friars.

Bauch drove in an unearned run in the top of the sixth, then home runs by Evans and Thomas pulled the Illini within three in the top of the seventh, but a two-out single by Leigh Farina was last of the Illini offense, as the Orange and Blue fell by a final score of 8-5.