MOBILE, Ala. – Another fast start and a solid outing from freshman pitcher Sydney Sickels sent the No. 25 Illinois softball team to a 5-3 win over Nicholls State in its Mardi Gras Invitational finale on Sunday (Feb. 24) morning at Jaguar Field.
The Illini finish off the tournament with a 3-1 record and improve to 10-3 on the season.
Sophomore Bella Loya was stellar at the plate, registering a .667 average with a 10-for-15 effort that included three home runs and two doubles, as well as tallying eight RBI, four runs and a 1.400 slugging percentage. Redshirt-senior Annie Fleming added a .533 batting average with eight hits, including two home runs and a double, as well as four RBI and five runs, while redshirt-senior Carly Thomas (.467) and sophomore Maddison Demers (.400) each also hit .400 or better on the weekend.
"It was great to see our team find a way to win today," said head coach Tyra Perry. "We started out strong then hit a bit of a wall mid-game. Our hitters rallied in the late innings to push more runs anchored by a clutch hit from Veronica Ruelius and Sydney Sickels stayed steady in the circle and kept Nicholls State off-balance."
The Illini continued their streak of fast starts against the Colonels (8-7) as Thomas scored the game's first run on an RBI single, before Loya knocked her tournament-leading third home run of the weekend – a two-run shot to left center – for the 3-0 lead in the opening frame.
Thomas then pushed the edge to 4-0 in the second with her second RBI single of the day to plate sophomore Katie Wingerter.
The score stayed that way until NSU rallied with three runs in the bottom of the sixth, but an RBI double from senior Veronica Ruelius in the top of the seventh secured the 5-3 victory for the Illini.
Sickels (6-2) allowed all three runs on seven hits and one walk and struck out five in a complete game effort to get the win.
UI notched 11 hits on the day, while NSU committed one error. Loya posted a 3-for-4 effort with two RBI and a run for the Illini, with Thomas added two hits and two RBI and Fleming contributing two hits and a run.
Next Up
The Illini next heads to Tulsa, Okla., for the OSU-Tulsa Invitational at the Collins Family Softball Complex on March 1-3.
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