BATON ROUGE, La. – Illinois softball opened its run at the Purple and Gold Challenge with a 2-1 win against Louisiana Tech on Friday morning at Tiger Park.
With the win, Illinois moved to 4-6, while LA Tech dropped to 9-3 on the year.
Tori McQueen threw seven innings, giving up one run on five hits while walking two and fanning eight for Illinois. Offensively, Stevie Meade led the way for the Fighting Illini, going 2-for-3 in the ballgame with a double and an RBI. Serena Starks put together a strong performance at the plate as well, going 2-for-3.
How it happened
The Fighting Illini fell behind early, with the Bulldogs posting a run in the opening frame. McQueen found her rhythm in the second, however, with the southpaw striking out the side.
The Orange and Blue rallied in the third with Paige Berkmeyer starting the inning with a single. Starks reached on a one-out single, putting runners on the corners before an error by Louisiana Tech knotted the game at one run apiece. An RBI double from the bat of Meade scored Starks on the play, giving the Illini the lead.
McQueen continued to deal in the circle, striking out three LA Tech batters before heading to the final frame. Looking to tally her first complete game of the year, the Indiana native put away the Bulldogs in order, closing out the 2-1 victory.
Up Next
Illinois takes on #4 LSU at Tiger Park on Friday afternoon, with first pitch on SEC Network+ scheduled for 4 p.m. CT.
Notes
» Illinois wore orange jerseys, moving to 1-1 while donning those.
» The Illini improved to 1-1 all-time against LA Tech.
» McQueen fanned a season-high eight batters.
» Of those punchouts, five were strikeouts looking.
» The complete game for McQueen was her first this year.
» The Fighting Illini out-hit the Bulldogs at a 6-5 clip.
» Illinois went 2-for-4 (.500) with runners in scoring position.
» Illinois pitchers limited Louisiana Tech to just 1-for-6 (.167) with runners in scoring position.
