BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – In one of the best performances in her career, senior Taylor Edwards held Big Ten regular season champion and No. 1 seed Michigan scoreless for seven innings, before the Wolverines ended the ninth seeded Illinois softball team's run in the 2019 Big Ten Tournament with a walk-off solo home run in the bottom of the eighth on Friday (May 10) at Andy Mohr Field.
The Illini move to 32-23 on the season and will await their NCAA Tournament fate, which will be revealed during the 2019 NCAA Division I Softball Championship selection show on Sunday (May 12) night at 8 p.m. CT on ESPN2.
"We had our chances you know, just looking at the stat sheet and we left seven runners on base," said head coach Tyra Perry. "The couple times we did get hits that I thought were the 'clutch hit' to get us through and Michigan, as Michigan does, made really tough plays. I think we had a chance and that is all you can ask for. Taylor Edwards pitched a gem of a game and to have the loss happen on one of her pitches was tough, but she's tougher and she's going to come back stronger."
Edwards (5-8) went the distance for the Illini, allowing just seven hits and three walks and striking out one in the complete game effort.
"I think Taylor did a great job," said Perry. "It was one of the best games I have seen her throw, but it has been a long time coming. She has been steadily just getting better and better. Taylor is just a great person, a hard worker and she is a team player and hopefully we can get a big into the tournament and see her continue to grow."
The Illini would threaten in the top of the fourth with singles from seniors Kiana Sherlund and Stephanie Abello to put runners at the corners, but would not be able to bring a run home.
Heading into the top of the seventh, the Illini again looked to score the game's first run as sophomore Shelby Stauffenberg reached on a Wolverine fielding error, before sophomore Katie Wingerter knocked a single to left field and advancing sophomore pinch runner Rhein Trochim to third base with just one out in the frame. The Illini would not be able to capitalize, but held Michigan (41-11) off the board in the bottom half of the inning to send the game to extras.
A solo home run from Lexie Blair in the bottom of the eighth inning then sent the Wolverines to the walk-off victory.
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