LINCOLN, Neb. – Sophomore Bella Loya led the Illinois softball team at the plate as the Illini split their Big Ten Conference doubleheader with Nebraska on Sunday (March 31) afternoon at Bowlin Stadium. The Illini opened the day with an 11-8 eight-inning victory, before falling 5-4 in the day's second contest.
"We ran into a Nebraska team that was hungry and they brought a ton of energy throughout the weekend," said head coach Tyra Perry. "We had our chances to take two but we made mistakes at key moments in the last game. Now we have to refocus and get back on the right track for our midweek game on Wednesday."
Loya had a standout day at the plate with a team-high six RBI on four hits – including a double and a home run – and added two runs for the Illini (22-9, 3-3 B1G), while redshirt-senior Annie Fleming went 4-for-4 in game two and totaled three runs and an RBI on the day.
The Mission Viejo, Calif., native turned in a team-high seven RBI with a .545 batting average on six hits – with two coming as doubles and two going for homers – while adding a 1.273 slugging percentage for the series with the Huskers (12-19, 2-4 B1G).
Game One: Illinois 11, Nebraska 8 // 8 innings
A leadoff double from senior Carly Thomas set the tone in the opening inning, with the Illini striking first with five runs as the Fontana, Calif., native came home on a fielding error, before senior Veronica Ruelius knocked the first Illini grand slam of the season and her second dinger of the weekend for the quick 5-0 edge.
After a Husker solo home run in the bottom of the second, freshman Kailee Powell came right back with a two-run shot in the third frame for her first career home run, before Loya added an RBI single in the fourth for the 8-1 advantage.
The Huskers then scored seven-straight runs with a two-run home run in the fourth, a three-run homer in the sixth and a solo shot in the seventh to tie things up at 8-8 and send the game into extra innings.
In the eighth, the Illini loaded the bases with two outs for Loya, who then cleared the bases with a three-RBI double to left center for the 11-8 lead. Freshman Sydney Sickels then pitched a three-up, three-down inning to earn the win.
Sickels (14-4) allowed just one earned run on one hit and struck out two in two innings of action. Senior Taylor Edwards started and went 3.2 frames, giving up two earned runs on seven hits and one walk and striking out two. Senior Emily Oestreich (5 ER, 5 H, 1 BB, 2 K, 2.1 IP) also saw action in relief.
Game Two: Nebraska 5, Illinois 4
The Illini started off the day's second game with three-straight hits as a Fleming bloop single scored senior Kiana Sherlund for the early 1-0 advantage in the first.
The one-run lead held until the bottom of the fifth inning when the Huskers used a three-run home run to take a 3-1 lead, but it would not last long as Loya delivered a two-run long ball in the top of the sixth, before an RBI double from sophomore Maddison Demers brought in the go-ahead run.
A Husker infield double that was a pop-up lost in the sun then knotted the score in the sixth as the home team went on for the win with a walk-off RBI single up the middle in the bottom of the seventh.
Senior Taylor Edwards (2-3) took the loss after giving up one earned run on two walks in 0.1 innings of relief action. Sickels started and tossed six frames, allowing four earned runs on 10 hits and four walks ans striking out four on the day.
Next Up
The Illini return to Eichelberger Field for a four-game homestand, beginning with a midweek match-up with Illinois State on Wednesday (April 3) at 5 p.m. CT, before Minnesota comes to town for a three-game series on April 5-9.
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