URBANA, Ill. – With the score tied in the bottom of the eighth inning, junior Alexis Carrillo knocked an RBI single through the left side to score senior Sam Acosta for a 6-5 walk off win over Iowa on a chilly Saturday (April 21) night at Eichelberger Field.
The Illini (29-15, 8-6 B1G), winners of four-straight, earn their third Big Ten Conference series victory of the season.
Freshman Bella Loya continued her hot streak at the plate with a 3-for-4 effort and one run, while junior Stephanie Abello went 2-for-3 with an RBI. Acosta added a hit and two runs in the win.
Quotable
"We fought hard tonight. It was a great Big Ten softball game. Our fans brought tremendous energy to Eichelberger Field to help us secure the win. Emily Oestreich gave us a great start. She fought through adversity early on the game to set the tone and Taylor Edwards came in and battled like a true veteran. Alexis Carrillo had a quality at bat in the extra innings to knock in the winning run. She has been working very hard to be someone we can depend on in those moments. I was happy to see her come through for the Orange and Blue." – head coach Tyra Perry
What Happened
The Hawkeyes struck first as four-straight singles in the second turned into a 2-0 lead for the visitors.
A leadoff home run in the bottom of the fourth from redshirt-junior Carly Thomas then started a four-run rally as freshman pinch runner Rhein Trochim came home on an Iowa error to tie the score, before a two-run pinch hit double from senior Rowan McGuire pushed the Illini ahead 4-2.
A two-run triple from the Hawkeyes then knotted the score at 4-4 in the top of the sixth, before the visitors scratched an unearned run across in the seventh, helped by a pair of Illini errors.
Trailing 5-4 heading into the bottom of the seventh, junior Kiana Sherlund started the Illini rally with a leadoff single, before Abello knocked in the game-tying run on an RBI single up the middle.
With the bases loaded and no outs in the eighth for the Hawkeyes, the Illini strung together three-straight outs started by a lineout back to junior pitcher Taylor Edwards. Sherlund and Abello then combined for one of the best plays of the night as Sherlund caught a fly out in center field, before throwing out the runner at home on the Abello tag.
Headed into the bottom half of the frame, Acosta started things off with a one-out infield single, before advancing to third on a stolen base and wild pitch. From there, Carrillo delivered the heroics with her RBI single to lift the Illini to victory.
Edwards (11-7) earned the win with 5.2 innings of relief pitching and allowed three runs – only two earned – on five hits and three walks in the outing. Junior Emily Oestreich started and went 2.1 frames, giving up two runs on four hits and two walks and striking out one.
What's Next
The Illini will look for the series sweep of the Hawkeyes in the series finale on Sunday (April 22) at 12 p.m. CT in Eichelberger Field.
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