URBANA, Ill. –Fighting Illini softball dropped a midweek contest to Illinois State, 3-2, at Eichelberger Field on Tuesday night.
Illinois moved to 24-21 overall following the loss while Illinois State improved to 25-17.
Sydney Sickels got the ball to start for Illinois and took the loss. Lauren Wiles came out of the bullpen and tossed 2.2 scoreless innings, allowing one hit and fanning five batters.
Offensively, the Fighting Illini were led by Megan Ward, who went 2-for-3 on the day with a home run and two RBI. Avrey Steiner went 1-for-3 with a double during the loss.
HOW IT HAPPENED
Illinois State drew first blood with a solo homer during the team's first at bat.
After a pair of scoreless innings for both teams, the Fighting Illini took the lead in the bottom of the fourth when Ward sent a two-run homer over the wall.
The Illini advantage was short lived as the Redbirds sent balls out of the park in back-to-back at bats in the top of the fifth, putting Illinois behind 3-2.
Down to their final three outs, the Orange and Blue added a base runner when Ward reached on a leadoff single. However, Illinois stranded the runner to end the game, falling 3-2 in the midweek tilt.
GAME NOTES
» Illinois wore white uniforms, moving to 6-5 when wearing those.
» The Fighting Illini moved to 2-12 when allowing the opposition to score in the first.
» The Illini fell to 4-15 when letting their opponents score first.
» Sickels moved to 11-9 in the circle this season.
» In midweek clashes, Illinois dropped to 5-5.
» Illinois fell to 16-9 all-time against the Redbirds
UP NEXT
Illinois welcomes Michigan State for a Big Ten series from April 21-23. Both Friday and Saturday's contests are slated for 5 p.m. Sunday's series finale is scheduled for noon.
