CLEARWATER, Fla. – The Illinois softball team continued play the NFCA Leadoff Classic Presented by Rawlings with a pair of wins over No. 21 Ole Miss, 3-1, and South Alabama, 5-4, on Saturday (Feb. 8) at the Eddie C. Moore Complex.
"Addy Jarvis stayed steady in our win over Ole Miss," said head coach Tyra Perry. "We were able to get hits when we needed them to secure the game. We were not as fundamentally sound on offense or defense as we needed to be in the South Alabama game. Sydney Sickels came in strong to give us a boost for the win."
Junior Bella Loya paced the Illini (3-0) at the plate, going 4-of-5 on the day with a double, two RBI and a run, while sophomore Avrey Steiner totaled a team-high five hits and two runs.
Illinois 3, No. 21 Ole Miss 1
The Illini scored all three runs in the second frame, capitalizing on a Rebel error, before sophomore Kailee Powell earned a bases loaded RBI walk and Steiner added an RBI single up the middle.
Ole Miss (0-3) got a run back in the top of the fourth on a sacrifice fly, but a strong Illini debut from sophomore Addy Jarvis held the Rebels at bay. Jarvis (1-0) earned her first win as an Illini after allowing just one unearned run on six hits and two walks and striking out three in 5.2 innings of work. Sophomore Sydney Sickels then entered in the sixth and did not give up a hit, while striking out one in 1.1 innings to secure the win with her first save of the season.
The Illini registered five hits and one error, with Steiner going 3-for-3 with an RBI in the win.
Illinois 5, South Alabama 4
It was a back-and-forth second game as the Illini struck first with a Loya RBI single in the opening inning, before South Alabama (0-4) answered back with three runs in the bottom half of the frame.
Three RBI hits from Loya, junior Shelby Stauffenberg and sophomore Danielle Davis powered a three-run third that pushed the Illini back into the lead at 4-3, with UI adding an unearned insurance run in the top of the fifth. The Jaguars then cut the lead to one at 5-4 with a run in the bottom half of the frame, but Sickels once again came up big with a swinging strikeout to end the sixth with a USA runner on third.
Sickels did not give up a hit in 1.1 scoreless innings to earn her second save of the day. Freshman Taylor Murray (1-0) – in her first official appearance for the Illini – earned her first collegiate win in 2.2 innings of relief action, giving up just one earned run on three hits and a walk. Senior Akilah Mouzon started the game and allowed three runs – only two earned – on five hits and two walks and striking out one on in 3.0 innings.
Illinois collected nine hits and committed one error, with Loya going 3-for-4 with two RBI and a run and Steiner notching two hits and two runs.
Next Up
The Illini wrap up action at the NFCA Leadoff Classic Presented by Rawlings on Sunday (Feb. 9) as they take on No. 23 Auburn at 12 p.m. CT.
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