URBANA, Ill. – Freshman Sydney Sickels pitched a scoreless final two and a third innings as the Illinois softball team opened its final Big Ten Conference regular season series with a 7-2 win over Purdue on Friday (May 3) night at Eichelberger Field. Sickels earned her fifth save and broke the Illinois single season record for saves previously held by Amanda Fortune (2004), Claire DeVreese (2005) and Breanna Wonderly (2017).
Redshirt-senior Annie Fleming led the Illini (29-22, 7-14 B1G) offensively with a 3-for-4 night at the plate with two RBI and two runs, while senior Veronica Ruelius also went 3-for-4 with three RBI in the win.
Ruelius put the Illini on the board first with an RBI bloop single in the opening inning, before a three-run frame in the third, highlighted by RBI hits from Fleming and Ruelius, pushed the lead to 4-0.
The Boilermakers (30-24, 6-15 B1G) then closed within 4-2 with a two-run home run in the top of the fifth, but the Illini answered back with three runs in the sixth with RBI singles from Fleming, Ruelius and redshirt-senior Carly Thomas and went on for the 7-2 victory.
Senior Taylor Edwards (5-7) earned the win after allowing just two earned runs on five hits and two walks and struck out two in four and two-thirds innings. Sickels, who entered in the fifth with runners at the corners and worked out of the jam, did not allow a hit and walked two, while striking out two in two and a third frames for the save.
Next Up
Illinois continues its final regular season series with Purdue on Saturday (May 4) at 1 p.m. CT. The Illini will hold their annual World's Largest Softball Tailgate on Saturday beginning at 11 a.m. CT prior to the game, before celebrating the 2019 senior class of Annie Fleming, Carly Thomas, Stephanie Abello, Danielle Brochu, Alexis Carrillo, Taylor Edwards, Emily Oestreich, Veronica Ruelius and Kiana Sherlund following the conclusion of the contest.
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