LOUISVILLE, Ky. – In game one of the Cardinal Classic, the RV/RV Fighting Illini softball team took down host Louisville 8-0 in five innings Friday evening at Ulmer Stadium. The Illini recorded 10 hits on the evening, and Illinois pitchers gave up just three hits while and zero walks on the evening.
Illinois (7-4) had five players with multi-hit games (Avrey Steiner, Stevie Meade, Kailee Powell, Danielle Davis, Megan Ward), with Powell and Ward knocking in two runs each. Senior RHP Sydney Sickels got the start and the win thanks to four scoreless innings, giving up just one hit and striking out three Cardinals. Freshman right-hander Lauren Wiles came on in relief in the fifth, closing the game out with a strikeout while allowing two hits.
Louisville (8-8) did not record a hit until the fourth inning and knocked just three base hits on the evening. Starter Chardonnay Harris let up the first seven runs, allowing eight Illini hits and receiving the loss.
HOW IT HAPPENED
The Illini went quickly in the first inning and left Meade on base after a double, and Sickels made quick work of the Cardinal batters in the bottom half of the first.
Illinois grabbed the early lead with four runs in the top of the second inning. After Jaelyn Vickery walked and Delaney Rummell reached base on a throwing error, Davis knocked a single up the middle to put the Illini on the board. Then, Ward and Steiner singled in back-to-back trips to the plate to extend the Illini lead before another single by Powell put the Illini up 4-0.
Sickels silenced the Louisville bats in both the second and third inning, sitting the Cardinals down in order while picking up another strikeout in the third.
It was another four-run inning for Illinois in the fourth, with Davis recording her first career triple to lead the inning off before Ward doubled her to the plate. Steiner then slapped a single to left field to bring in Ward, and Meade reached base on a single. Powell doubled in Steiner and Meade came around to score on a RBI groundout from Bella Loya.
Louisville grabbed their first hit of the game on a bunt single in the bottom of the fourth, but Sickels got the next two batters to fly out and ground out to finish her night in the circle.
The Illini went down in order in the top of the fifth, and Wiles entered the game in the bottom half of the inning looking to seal Illinois' first run-rule win of the season. After a quick strikeout to begin the inning, Louisville knocked two-straight singles to put runners on first and second with just one out. After a fielder's choice got the second out of the inning and prevented a runner from advancing to third, Wiles induced a groundout to Steiner to seal the 8-0 victory.
UP NEXT
Illinois is set to take on Hofstra tomorrow morning, March 5 at 11:30 a.m. CT, and will also face Louisville again tomorrow evening for a 4:30 p.m. first pitch. Tomorrow evening's game vs. Louisville will be streamed live on ACC Network Extra, while fans can follow the Hofstra game via live stats and our twitter account (@IlliniSB).
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