Box Score (PDF)
Lincoln, Neb. - The Fighting Illini went deep three times in the third inning to take an early 10-0 lead, and another jack in the top of the seventh thwarted the Huskers' valiant comeback, as the Orange and Blue evened the Big Ten series with a 12-10 victory on Saturday. With the win, Illinois regains its winning record at 26-25 (14-8 Big Ten), while the Huskers drop to 31-20 (16-6 Big Ten).
"What a great win for Jade and her teammates," said head coach Terri Sullivan. "We hit the ball well and then had to grind it out. It was an exciting environment to be tested in, and we once again had everyone on this team step up. We weren't at our best defensively at times, but stayed mentally tough throughout."
Every Illini with more than one at-bat had at least one hit in the game, led by Allie Bauch, who reached base all five times, going 3-for-3 with two walks, four RBIs and the game-winning home run. Her leadoff walk to start the day extended her reached base streak to 24 games, the fifth-longest streak in program history.
Carly Thomas also had three hits in the game, and Ruby Rivera, Alyssa Gunther and Nicole Evans all went deep in the third to account for six of the eight runs in that frame. Annie Fleming was the lone starter without a base hit, but she hardly saw a strike, drawing a career-high three walks.
Jade Vecvanags (19-11) went the distance for the Illini, picking up her school-record 13th conference win despite allowing 15 hits but just one walk for five earned runs with two strikeouts. Kaylan Jablonski (7-6) got the start for the Huskers and was on the hook for five runs, four earned, on five hits and five walks over a total of four innings. Caitlin Bartsch faced five batters in the third, allowing all five to score, four earned, on three hits and a walk, before Jablonski returned to close out the inning. Emily Lockman looked strong over the final three innings, giving up two runs on four hits and a walk. None of the three Husker hurlers registered a strikeout.
Kylee Muir was the star of the Nebraska offense, going 3-for-3 with two home runs and six RBIs.
Jablonski did not throw a strike until her 10th pitch of the game, walking Bauch and Gunther and loading the bases on a hit by pitch. Evans had a sacrifice fly taken away from her, as Bauch was called out for leaving early on the tag up, giving the Husker defense a big break to escape the jam unscathed.
The second inning started much like the first, as Rivera and Fleming drew leadoff walks, but this time the Illini bats came alive, as Vecvanags drove in Rivera on a grounder to deep short, and after an unsuccessful double steal, catching Fleming at the plate, Bauch ripped an RBI single to left to make it 2-0 Illini.
The Illini exploded for eight runs off three homers in the top of the third to seemingly put the game out of reach, 10-0. Rivera started it off with a two-run blast down the left-field line, scoring Thomas, who had singled to chase Jablonski from the circle. Bartsch then issued a walk and two singles, before Jablonski returned the circle just in time to serve up a three-run bomb to Gunther, the first long ball of her career. Evans kept it going with her 18th homer of the year to put the Illini up by double digits before the Huskers got the final out of the inning.
Nebraska fought back in the bottom of the third, using a two-out rally to plate four unearned runs. MJ Knighten and Alicia Armstrong had back-to-back two-out singles, and Steph Pasquale ripped a low liner off Vecvanags in the circle. She chased it down, but her flip to first ended up in right field, allowing Knighten to score. Muir then made the Illini pay for the error, crushing a three-run shot to cut the Illini lead to six, 10-4.
The Huskers chipped away further at the Illini lead in the bottom of the fifth, once again following an Illini error with a home run, as a two-run shot by Muir pulled Nebraska within four, 10-6.
Nebraska made it a one-run game in the bottom of the sixth, thanks to a two-run double by Pasquale to the wall in the left field corner. Kiki Stokes and Knighten started the inning with back-to-back one-out singles, and an RBI single by Muir sent Pasquale across the plate to cut Illinois' lead to a single run, 10-9.
Bauch gave the Illini some insurance in the top of the seventh, jacking a two-run shot to left center to drive in Kylie Johnson, who had led off with an infield single, to head to the bottom of the final inning, carrying a 12-9 advantage.
Kat Woolman gave Nebraska a chance with a one-out single in the bottom of the seventh, and Stokes sent her across the plate on a single to right. A hit batter and a single to short loaded the bases with Huskers and put the go-ahead run on first base, but Vecvanags got Pasquale to fly out to center to seal up her 20th career victory.
Next Up: Illinois goes for its sixth straight Big Ten series victory on Sunday, May 3, in the regular season finale at Nebraska at Noon. Saturday's win keeps Illinois in contention for a first round bye for the Big Ten Tournament, but the Orange and Blue need a win on Sunday and a loss by Northwestern to clinch the free pass to the quarterfinals.
