PISCATAWAY, N.J. -Â Powered by lights-out pitching, the Fighting Illini softball team claimed their eighth-straight victory and third-straight Big Ten series victory after shutting out Rutgers 5-0 on Saturday afternoon.
Illinois (25-13, 8-2 B1G) was led by senior right-hander Sydney Sickels, who tossed her third-straight complete game shutout in her past three starts, giving up no runs on seven hits and just one walk, while striking out 10 Scarlet Knights batters. At the plate, graduate student Bella Loya mashed her second home run on the season, a three-run shot in the second, while freshman Stevie Meade tallied a double and an RBI in the contest.
"We played solid team softball today. I was pleased with our level of play in all aspects of the game. Sydney Sickels was in command in the circle from the first pitch and our defense supported her" head coach Tyra Perry said. "Bella Loya was aggressive after her pitch at the plate and it played off. She has been working really hard on getting her feel back. I was happy to see her get a big hit for the team today."
HOW IT HAPPENED
Despite a leadoff double from the Scarlet Knights, Sickels was able to sit down the next three batters in order to strand the runne at second. Illinois stepped up to the plate in the second and delivered their third four-run inning of the weekend, scoring four runs on three hits. Kelly Ryono led off the inning with a single and advanced to second on a groundout, then came around to score on two straight wild pitches from Rutgers to put Illinois up early. A Kailee Powell single and Danielle Davis walk placed runners on first and second with just one out, and Loya stepped to the plate and launched a three-run shot to left field to extend Illinois' early lead to 4-0.
Sickels added four more K's in the second and third innings, and worked around a walk in the third to strand a Rutgers runner. Illinois worked two walks in the fourth but was unable to extend the lead after a caught stealing ended the inning with two runners on base. Sickels again worked around a single in the fourth, catching the final batter swinging to put another zero on the board.
Illinois made two quick outs in the fifth before Megan Ward got on base with a double to the left-center gap. Meade then followed with a double of her own to plate Ward and extend the Illini lead to 5-0. Rutgers threatened in the bottom of the fifth, notching a double and a single to put runners on the corners with two outs, but Sickels was able to catch the batter looking to end the inning with another zero.
Rutgers again found a scoring threat in the sixth inning with back-to-back one out singles, but Sickels again tallied a backwards K and induced a popout to end the inning unscathed. She then added two more strikeouts in the seventh and stranded a runner at second to clinch the game and the series for the Illini.
UP NEXT
Illinois will look to secure the sweep in tomorrow (April 17) afternoon's series finale against the Scarlet Knights, with first pitch set for 11:00 a.m. CT. Fans can follow the game live on B1G+.
