LEESBURG, Fla. – Illinois completed the sweep over No. 17 Michigan on Sunday, winning both games of the doubleheader, 2-1. The Illini pitching staff and defense were lights out, holding the Wolverines to a combined two runs on the afternoon. With Sunday's two wins, the Illini jump out to a 5-1 start for the first time since the 2017 season.
"Our veterans truly stepped up today," said head coach Tyra Perry. "I am very proud of the leadership shown by Sydney Sickels on the mound. Bella Loya and Avrey Steiner led us at the plate. Their steadiness helped us stay calm and fight through pressure situations. Michigan is an excellent program with a storied history and it was fun to take two from them."
GAME ONE (Illinois 2, Michigan 1)
Sydney Sickels was the highlight of game one, pitching a complete game and giving up just one run on five hits, while striking out nine.
Senior catcher Bella Loya got the offense started in the first with a double to center field that scored Avrey Steiner who reached on a leadoff single. In her second at bat of the game, Loya would notch her second RBI in the third inning with a single up the middle, scoring Jaelyn Vickery and extending the Illini lead to 2-0 over the Wolverines.
Michigan responded in the bottom half of the third inning with an RBI single, cutting the Illinois lead to 2-1. Sickels and the stout Illini defense would hold on for the remainder of the game to take down the Wolverines in game one.
GAME TWO (Illinois 2, Michigan 1)
Game two of Sunday's doubleheader was also a low-scoring defensive battle. Morgan Scivally got her first start of the season for the Illini, going two innings while allowing three hits and one run (unearned). Addy Jarvis entered the game for the Illini in the third inning, allowing four hits in four scoreless innings. Jarvis picked up her third win of the weekend and improves to 3-0 on the season after Sunday's game two victory.
Michigan struck first in the top of the first inning, stringing together a few hits and scoring on a passed ball to go up 1-0 early.
The game remained 1-0 until the bottom of the fifth, when Katie Wingerter led off the inning with a double. Gabi Robles entered the game as a pinch runner, and Rhein Trochim singled on a bunt to the third baseman, advancing Robles to third. Trochim stole second, and Steiner singled down the left field line to score Robles and Trochim and give Illinois a 2-1 edge over the Wolverines.
Sickels entered the game in the top of the seventh, striking out two and earning her first save of the season.
UP NEXT
Illinois heads to Champaign for a two-week break before heading back to Leesburg, Florida for six more Big Ten games. The Illini will take on Michigan State in a three-game series with two games on March 11th and one game on March 12th, followed by two games against Penn State on the 13th and one more to wrap up their second Florida trip on Sunday, March 14th.
