BATON ROUGE, La. – In the final game of the LSU Tiger Classic, the Fighting Illini softball team rallied late to defeat 14th-ranked LSU 5-2 in eight innings Sunday afternoon at Tiger Park.
Illinois was led by a combined pitching effort from senior Sydney Sickels (4.0 IP, 0 BB, 3 K) and freshman Lauren Wiles (4.0 IP, 2 H, 1 BB, 4 K) who shutout the Tiger offense after scoring two in the first inning.'
At the plate, junior Kelly Ryono continued her hot streak, knocking three hits in the game, while the Illini had runs batted in by graduate student Bella Loya, junior Delaney Rummell, redshirt sophomore Jaelyn Vickery, and sophomore Megan Ward.
"LSU has a strong tradition and a rock-solid culture. It is a tall order to go into someone else's house and leave with a victory, and today our team found a way to rise to the occasion" head coach Tyra Perry said.
HOW IT HAPPENED
The Illini grabbed a lead early in the first inning after senior Avrey Steiner led off the game with a double before Loya knocked a double of her own to bring her to the plate. However, LSU scored two in the bottom half of the first off of a Sunseri single to left field plated two Tigers.
Sickels settled in to the game after the first inning, pitching three more scoreless innings while striking out two more LSU players. Offensively, the Illini were not able to get anything going at the plate, going down in order in each inning until the fifth.
"Sydney Sickels did not start with her best stuff but she stayed strong and battled through adversity. Lauren Wiles showed a ton of guts and heart at the end of the game to lead us to a top tier win" head coach Tyra Perry said.
In the fifth inning, the Illini were able to tie the game at two after Ward lined a double up the middle to bring around Ryono to even the score. Wiles entered the game in the bottom half of the fifth inning, striking out four Tiger hitters over the following three innings and keeping the LSU bats at bay.
After Illinois had runners on second and third in the top of the seventh and failed to convert a run, LSU was retired in order, and the game headed to extra innings tied at two.
The Illini exploded offensively in the top of the eighth inning to give the team their first lead since the top of the first inning. Freshman Stevie Meade got the rally started with a single before senior Kailee Powell worked a walk to put two Illini on base with no outs.
After a Loya groundout advanced Meade and Powell up a base, Rummell reached first on an error by the LSU shortstop, scoring Meade and putting the Illini in the lead. With junior Gabi Robles pinch running for Rummell, and the Illini looking to add more to their lead, Powell scored on a passed ball by the Tiger catcher and Robles scored on a Vickery groundout to bring the score to 5-2.
In the bottom half of the inning after two quick outs, LSU gained momentum after two walks, putting runners on second and third base. Wiles was able to work through the final batter of the game, getting a fly out to deep left field to seal the Illini's victory.
"This was precisely how we wanted to start the season off but now it is time to get back to work" head coach Tyra Perry said.
UP NEXT
Illinois hits the road again next weekend, heading to Fayetteville, Arkansas for the Razorback Classic. The Illini are scheduled to face Wichita State (10:00 a.m.) and Arkansas (4:45 p.m.) Friday, Western Illinois (4:45 p.m.) and Longwood (7:00 p.m.) on Saturday, and wrapping up the weekend playing Arkansas at 12:15 p.m. Sunday.
FOLLOW THE #ILLINI
For the latest news and information on Fighting Illini softball, follow @IlliniSB on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram, and tune in to fightingillini.com.
