Evanston, Ill. - The Fighting Illini returned home happy, winning the nightcap of a Big Ten doubleheader at Northwestern, 9-8, after a rough third inning allowed the Wildcats to take the opener, 12-4, in five innings. Jess Perkins drove in five runs including a three-run homer in the opener, and freshman Kate Giddens sealed up her first career victory with solid relief in game two. After the split, the Illini remain one win ahead of the Wildcats in the Big Ten standings at 22-23 (11-6 Big Ten), while NU drops to 22-18 (10-6 Big Ten).
"Once again, we had different players step up when we need them to today," said head coach Terri Sullivan. "Giddy showed her toughness, confidence and the trust she has in our defense and got a big win for us. She was ready when called upon, and that's because of how hard she works in practice.
"Ruby and Annie on the left side played big time defense, and we responded as a team in game two."
Big Third Inning Too Much to Overcome in Opener
Illinois starter Jade Vecvanags struggled with control in the first game of the doubleheader, issuing a career-high eight walks with two hit batters, and an unfortunate series of events in the bottom of the third allowed six unearned Northwestern runs, as the Wildcats took the first game of the day, 12-4, in four innings.
Carly Thomas doubled twice and Allie Bauch extended her reached-base streak to 17 games, while Jess Perkins drove in all four runs with a three-run homer and a sacrifice fly. The seventh-inning lineout marked the fifth sac fly of the season and ninth of the senior's career, which both set new all-time records.
Jade Vecvanags (15-10) allowed just two hits, but eight walks and two hit batters led to nine runs, only four of which were earned, over two and two-thirds innings. Shelese Arnold tossed the remaining inning-and-a-third, allowing three runs, two earned, on five hits and two walks.
Kristen Wood (11-7) tossed the full five innings, surrendering seven hits and four earned runs with two walks and five strikeouts. Wildcats Andrea Filler and Sammy Nettling both homered, and Olivia Duehr was 2-for-2 and a walk and an RBI.
Northwestern hardly put the ball in play in the bottom of the first, but walks issued to four of the first six batters spotted the Wildcats a 1-0 lead to open the game.
The Illini used a two-out rally in the top of the third to jump on top 3-1. Bauch got it started with a two-out walk, then Alyssa Gunther singled through the right side. Perkins then crushed her 22nd career home run to put her team ahead by two.
The Illinois lead did not last long, as Northwestern put up nine runs in the bottom of the third to push back in front 10-3. A leadoff home run by Filler cut the Illini lead in half, then the Wildcats loaded the bases with a hit batter, a walk and a single. Another hit batter tied the score, and a bases-loaded walk gave Northwestern back the lead. Vecvanags nearly escaped the inning with just a one-run deficit on a grounder to short, but an off-target throw to second by Rivera let two runs score and allowed the inning to continue. Arnold took over in the circle with the bases loaded and two outs. Her first pitch was wild, allowing a Wildcat to score, then Sammy Nettling made it 10-3 with a three-run bomb before the Illini defense finally got out of the inning.
The Wildcats took advantage of the ripping wind in the bottom of the fourth, scoring two runs on three hits to reach a run-rule situation, 12-3.
The Orange and Blue nearly extended the game in the top of the fifth, as Bauch got things going with a leadoff double. Gunther put runners on the corners with a single, and Perkins hit a sinking liner to center that was just caught but drove in Bauch on the sac fly. Thomas then ripped a two-out double to the wall in right center, but Nicole Evans was thrown out at the plate trying to score from first to end the inning and the game with a 12-4 final score.
Illini Secure Split with 9-8 Win in Game Two
Illinois jumped out to a 5-0 lead to open game two, but the Wildcats crept back to tie the score at seven in the bottom of the fourth, and both teams sent new pitchers to the circle to start the fifth. Both relievers showed command in the circle, but the Illini attacked Kristen Wood (12-7) for two unearned runs in the top of the sixth, and Kate Giddens (1-0) sealed up her first career victory in relief, as the Illini came away with the DH split, 9-8.
Allie Bauch was the lone Illini with a multi-hit game, going 2-for-4 with a walk and a run, while Ruby Rivera led the Illini with two RBIs, and Perkins and Thomas both walked and scored twice and drove in a run.
Vecvanags got the start again in the circle, allowing seven runs on six hits and four walks with three strikeouts over the first four innings. Giddens entered in the fifth and shut down the Northwestern offense, allowing just one run on five hits and a walk over the final three innings to capture her first-ever win.
Olivia Duehr started for Northwestern, allowing seven runs, three earned, on five hits and four walks, and Kristen Wood took the loss after surrendering the final two unearned runs as a result of three walks and two hits with four strikeouts.
Bauch got the Illini going in the top of the first with a leadoff walk, and Perkins kept swinging a hot bat with an RBI double. After a walk was issued to Evans, Thomas loaded the bases due to an error by the second baseman. An RBI single by Rivera plated the second run, and Annie Fleming then helped two Illini come home with a ball hit sharply through the second baseman's legs. Kylie Johnson then made it 5-0 Illinois with an RBI groundout before Northwestern even had a chance to swing the bat.
Vecvanags struck out the first two batters in the bottom of the first, but Filler doubled down the third base line and Nettling drove her in on a single to right center to put the Wildcats on the board, 5-1.
The Wildcats started to claw their way back in the bottom of the third, loading the bases with no outs on a hit by pitch, a single and a walk. Filler then came through with a two-run single to cut the Illini lead in half, but Vecvanags shut down the next three batters to keep the advantage intact, 5-3.
Leadoff singles by Bauch and Gunther helped the Illini load the bases with no outs in the top of the fourth, and a bases-loaded walk issued to Thomas sent Gunther across the plate. Rivera then drove in Perkins with a sacrifice fly to deep right to put the Illini back ahead by four, 7-3.
Northwestern erased the Illini's lead with a four-run fourth, sparked by a two-run homer by Anna Edwards. Andrea DiPrima followed with an RBI double, and Julia Kuhn tied the score at seven on a sacrifice fly.
Brittany Sanchez led off the fifth with a single. Bauch singled, and Wood pitched around Perkins to load the bases with two outs, but a huge strikeout of Evans stranded three and kept the Illini from retaking the lead.
The Illini loaded the bases with two outs again in the top of the sixth, and this time they took advantage, as first baseman Julia Kuhn dropped the throw from third on a close play on Bauch, and two Illini came in to score to put the Orange and Blue back on top, 9-7.
Down to the final three outs, Duehr looked to pick herself up by hitting a leadoff single. Brooke Marquez followed with a nearly-identical single, and Edwards laid down a sacrifice bunt to put the tying runs in scoring position. Amy Letourneau cut the Illini lead to one with a pinch hit RBI infield single, but Rivera made a great snag on a sinking liner to short to finish out the seventh and claim the Illini's first win in Evanston since 2010.
Next Up: The Fighting Illini return home this weekend to host Purdue in the final home Big Ten series of the season. The series open at 5:30 p.m. on Friday, April 24. It continues with a 1 p.m. start on Saturday and concludes with Kids Take Over the Ballpark on Senior Day Sunday at Noon.
