| San Diego Classic II |
|---|
Game 1:
Long Beach State | Friday, March 18, 2016 | 11 a.m. CT | San Diego, Calif. | Santee Complex | Live Stats |
Game 2:
Weber State | Friday, March 18, 2016 | 1:30 p.m. CT | San Diego, Calif. | Santee Complex | Live Stats |
Game 3:
Saint Mary's | Saturday, March 19, 2016 | 4 p.m. CT | San Diego, Calif. | Santee Complex | Live Stats |
Game 4:
San Jose State | Saturday, March 19, 2016 | 6:30 p.m. CT | San Diego, Calif. | Santee Complex | Live Stats |
Game 5:
Seattle | Sunday, March 20, 2016 | 11 a.m. CT | San Diego, Calif. | Santee Complex | Live Stats |
| Full Tournament Notes | Illinois | Long Beach State | Seattle |
| Statistics | Illinois | Long Beach State | Weber State | Saint Mary's | San Jose State | Seattle |
| Series History | Long Beach State: Series tied, 1-1 // Last: L, 0-1; 3/20/2011 // Streak: Lost 1
Weber State: Series tied, 1-1 // Last: L, 5-10; 2/27/2016 // Streak: Lost 1
Saint Mary's: Illinois leads, 1-0 // Last: W, 4-1; 3/25/2005 // Streak: Won 1
San Jose State: Illinois leads, 1-0 // W, 14-2; 3/19/2011 // Streak: Won 1
Seattle: First meeting |
| Social Media | @IlliniSB  | #Illini | Facebook  | @IlliniSB  | YouTube  |
Champaign, Ill. - The Illinois softball team will look to keep their win streak alive as the Illini head to west for a California spring break road trip where they will play seven games in five days, starting with the San Diego Classic II to wrap tournament play. The Illini will face Long Beach State, Weber State, Saint Mary's, San Jose State and Seattle in the three-day event, held on March 18-20 at the Santee Complex in San Diego, Calif. UI then finishes up its trip with a doubleheader against Cal State Northridge at 12 p.m. CT on Tuesday, March 22 in Northridge, Calif.
For the 14th time in program history, the Illini started off their home schedule in winning fashion as UI swept IUPUI on Tuesday at Eichelberger Field. The Illini bats came alive in an 8-0 five-inning win in game one as junior Jade Vecvanags and sophomore Kate Giddens combined for the 11th no-hitter in the history of the Illinois softball program. In a come-from-behind 5-4 victory in game two, junior Breanna Wonderly struck out a career-high eight batters in a career-high 7.2 innings of action as the Illini secured their first extra inning win of the season.
The Illini's 11-0 five-inning win over East Carolina on March 6 marked an historic occasion for the softball program, as it was the 500th victory in the history of the program. Since its inception in 2000, the Illini have posted a 502-376-2 (.572) record in 17 seasons.
Illini Notes
- The Illini have won six of their last seven games, including three-straight, and have outscored their oppoents 60-19 in that span. They have registered 76 hits, with 17 going for two-baggers and nine hit out of the park.
- The Illini have posted four run-rule victories (Central Michigan, Penn, East Carolina, IUPUI) in the last six games and have plated the three highest run totals for the season in wins over Sam Houston State (13), Central Michigan (11) and East Carolina (11).
- The Illini also registered their season-high for hits with 17 against CMU, while also notching the second-highest number of hits with 14 against SHSU.
- The Illini rank second in the conference with a .314 team batting average and six triples, and third in slugging percentage (.492) and runs scored (124). In the NCAA, the Illini are 35th in triples per game and slugging percentage and 48th in batting average.
- The Illini lead the Big Ten and rank 16th in the country with 44 stolen bases and 2.10 stolen bases per game on the season, with senior Kylie Johnson pacing the Illini with a 11-for-12 mark to rank fourth in the conference and 70th in the NCAA.
- The Illini have been doubling up their opponents on the base paths and rank second in the league and 17th in the NCAA with 37 doubles and are averaging 1.76 two-baggers per game. Thomas leads the Illini with nine doubles in her sophomore season to sit in a tie for second in the Big Ten and is 15th in the nation with 0.43 doubles per game.
- After opening the season going 3-for-14 at the plate, senior Allie Bauch has registered a .552 batting average in the last 10 games, going 16-for-29 with three doubles and two home runs, as well as 11 RBI, 10 runs and an .862 slugging percentage.
- Bauch has been streaking as of late as the Schaumburg, Ill., native currently owns a 10-game reached base streak and a seven-game hitting streak. She has also posted an RBI in 11 of the last 12 games.
- After a breakout weekend at the USF Under Armour Invitational, freshman pitcher Taylor Edwards earned Big Ten Freshman of the Week honors as she went 2-0 with an 0.70 ERA in 10 innings, posting her first two collegiate wins in the circle. She allowed just one earned run on the weekend on nine hits and totaled six strikeouts.
- The Illini opened the 2016 season down in Miami, Fla., at the JuiceBlendz FIU Invitational on Feb. 12-14, where they went 2-3, including wins over Valparaiso and then-No. 10 Florida State, before taking part in the inaugural Big Ten/ACC Softball Challenge on Feb. 19-21. The Illini went 3-1 with a sweep of Boston College and a split with North Carolina as they helped the Big Ten to a dominating win in the challenge by taking 20 of 32 contests on the weekend.
- In the Illini's season-opening tournament in Miami, Fla., UI registered a 5-1 win over then-No. 10 Florida State on Feb. 13, with the victory over the Seminoles marking the first win over a ranked opponent since defeating No. 4 Michigan on April 25, 2014 at Eichelberger Field. It was also just the seventh win against a top-10 foe and just the fourth win against a top-10 team not named Michigan.
Perry's Preview
Scouting the Competition
Long Beach State: Long Beach State has improved to six games over .500 after going 4-1 last weekend, and ranks in the nation's Top 100 in team batting average (.293) ERA (2.99) and fielding percentage (.965) and that balance has led the team to early success. Pitching has led the way for Long Beach State as both juniorChristina Clermont and freshman Cielo Meza are off to great starts this season. Both players rank in the top ten in the Big West in ERA, and currently sit No. 2 and No. 3 in strikeouts, having combined for 161 in 24 games.
Weber State: Weber State is currently 13-9 overall and is coming off a 2-2 showing at the Fresno State Classic this past weekend in Fresno, Calif. The Wildcats defeated CS Bakersfield and San Diego State with identical 5-4 walk-off wins, while falling to 2-0 to No. 24 Fresno State and 10-3 to No. 8 Washington in six innings. Shortstop Aubrey Whitmer leads the Wildcat offense with a sizzling .423 batting average, recording a team-high 30 hits and 21 RBI. The Mesa, Ariz., native is slugging .704 with eight doubles and four home runs. One of those home runs was a three-run walk-off winner against the Aztecs on Sunday.
Saint Mary's: The Gaels come to San Diego with a 6-14 mark in 2016 and have won four-straight after losing five-straight. Lollie Fitzpatrick paces the Saint Mary's offense with a .313 batting average and 12 RBI. Katie Moss and Lujane Mussadi are the key pitchers for the Gaels with Moss owning a team-low 4.16 ERA in 62.1 innings and Mussadi posting a 5.05 ERA in 52.5 innings. Both throwers are 3-6.
San Jose State:
San Jose State hosts Colgate in a doubleheader on Thurs. 3/17 before traveling to San Diego and have lost four of their last five, defeating Northwestern on Mar. 5 in their most recent game to finish after a pair of games vs. Oregon and Sacramento State scheduled for Mar. 11 were cancelled. Jessica Madrid is batting a team-high .393 (11 runs, 5 2B, 4 RBI) while, in the circle, both starting pitchers have an ERA above 6.00.
Seattle: The Redhawks enter this weekend's tournament with an 8-13 record and have lost three of their last five games. Maddy Kristjanson leads SU with a .345 batting average, 14 RBI and three home runs. She ranks second on the team with five doubles, while Paige Bouska paces the team with 25 hits. In the circle, Andie Larkins owns a 2.46 ERA and is 7-5 in 13 appearances and a team-high 71 innings of work.
Cal State Northridge: Last week, the Matadors went 2-3 overall as it continued to play in front of their home fans. Despite setbacks to No. 24 Oregon State, Grand Canyon and Toledo, CSUN posted victories over Charleston Southern and San Diego. Sophomore Savannah Horvath leads the Big West in slugging (.688) and total bases (53), second in runs (26) and doubles (10) and tied for fifth in SBs (10) as of Mar. 14. Junior Rebecca Bell sports a 2-2 record with a 3.71 ERA and an opponent batting average of .276 in 51 innings of work, while freshman Taylor Troost leads CSUN with 38 strikeouts in the circle in 2016
Next Up
After wrapping up its regular-season tournament schedule, the Fighting Illini return to Eichelberger Field for it's 2016 Big Ten opener against No. 23/25 Nebraska on March 25-27.
