FAYETTEVILLE, Ar. – On the opening day of the Razorback Invitational, the Fighting Illini softball team dropped a pair of games to ranked opponents, falling to Wichita State and Arkansas.
Illinois (4-3) dropped the early matchup against 25th-ranked Wichita State by a score of 8-3, and also fell to 10th-ranked Arkansas 6-3 in the second game of the day.
GAME ONE- RV ILLINOIS 3, #25 WICHITA STATE 8
In the early matchup, the Illini were led by freshman Stevie Meade who knocked in two RBI's and added two hits in the game. Junior Delaney Rummell also contributed a solo home run for the Illini, the first of the year for the third baseman. In the circle, sophomore left hander Tori McQueen led the staff with five strikeouts on the afternoon.
The Illini struck early in game one, with Meade knocking in Steiner on a sac fly for her first RBI of the day. After each team went three up and three down in the second, Packard pitched out of a jam in the top of the third with Shockers on second and third.
After Ward led off with a double and a Steiner single advanced Ward to third, Meade plated her second run of the day on a groundout to the shortstop, extending the Illini lead to 2-0 after three innings.
Wichita State tied the game up in the top of the fourth on a two-run RBI single. The Shockers added another three runs in the top of the fifth via a pair of homeruns. Another three runs were scored in the top of the sixth after the Shockers hit another two balls out of the park.
The Illini kept on fighting with Rummell hitting her first home run of the season to make the score 8-3. However, a rally was not in store for the Illini, as Meade was left on second base in the bottom of the seventh and the game ended in favor of the Shockers.
GAME TWO- RV ILLINOIS 3, #10 ARKANSAS 6
Facing off against the 10th-ranked team in the nation, Illinois was led offensively by junior Delaney Rummell who hit her second home run on the day, knocking in two Illini in the game. Junior Kelly Ryono also added an RBI, while senior Avrey Steiner notched two hits in the game. In the circle, senior right hander Sydney Sickels struckout seven Razorback hitters on the evening.
The Razorbacks struck first in the opening inning, while the Illini stranded an opening single from Steiner on base. In the second, Sickels worked out of a bases-loaded jam to keep Arkansas off the board while the Illini went down in order.
Arkansas added three more runs in the bottom of the fifth inning thanks to two home runs from the Razorbacks, extending their lead to a 5-0 advantage with two innings left to play.
The Illini didn't quit, though, as Ryono knocked in Robles for Illinois' first run in the top of the sixth before Rummell hit her second home run of the day, a two-run bomb to bring the Illini within three runs. However, Illinois gave a run back in the bottom half of the inning on an inside-the-park home run from Arkansas.
Yet again, Illinois fought in the top of the seventh inning with Ward reaching base on an error and Steiner knocking a single to put two on with just one out. The comeback effort fell flat after two consecutive Illini flyouts, giving the 10th-ranked Razorbacks a 6-3 victory.
UP NEXT
Illinois is back in action tomorrow (2/19) with an evening doubleheader against Western Illinois and Longwood, with first pitch set for 4:45 p.m. and 7:00 p.m., respectively. No stream will be available, but fans can follow the action on live stats and by following live tweets from our Twitter account, @IlliniSB.
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