AUBURN, Ala. — Illinois softball (3-7, 0-0 B1G) split its final pair of games at the War Eagle Classic, falling to Campbell, 5-0, in the first game of the day, before turning around and defeating Bradley, 10-5, in game two.
Game One
How It Happened
Karley Yergler, now 0-2, was the pitcher of record for the Illini, adding three strikeouts and allowing no runs in the first trio of innings, including a bases-loaded strikeout to end the third for Campbell.
In the opening inning, Skylar Brennan worked a leadoff walk and Ady Kiddy laid down a sacrifice bunt to advance her to second. A base hit from Adisyn Caryl brought Brennan to third, but the last pair of outs came before she could score.
Kiddy notched the second and final base hit of the game for the Illini in the third but did not advance into scoring position.
The Camels first struck in the fourth, with a two-RBI home run from Alliyah Swiney. Two more runs came in the sixth for Campbell, and they plated a fifth and final run in the last inning, taking the 5-0 win.
Christina Crawford briefly entered in relief, allowing one hit, and Amanda Smith threw 2.1 innings, allowing six hits and three earned runs. Yergler re-entered in the seventh, recording the final three outs for Illinois, bringing her total to 4.2 innings on the day.
Game Two
How It Happened
Left-hander Abby Sabalaskey started in the circle for the Illini, throwing five scoreless innings and improving to 2-1 on the season. Christina Crawford saw 1.1 innings of work, with no earned runs and just one hit.
The Orange and Blue broke open the scoring in the third inning, started by a base hit from Alaina Miller. Brennan reached on an error as Miller came home for the first run of the outing, which was immediately followed by a double from Kiddy to score Brennan. The scoring was capped off by a three-run home run from Caryl to empty the bases.
After Caryl worked a walk, Ellie Haggard and Eden Echevarria registered consecutive home runs in the fifth, extending the Illini advantage to seven.
The Braves battled back in the sixth inning, notching five runs on four hits. Illinois immediately shut the door in the bottom of the frame by logging three more runs, including a two-RBI double for Haggard.
Postgame Notes
- Adisyn Caryl notched her second home run of the year, the only Illinois player with two or more on the season
- Caryl added her first multi-hit outing since game one of the season
- The trio of home runs is Illinois' most in a game since notching four on March 15, 2025, against Wisconsin. Caryl homered in the 2025 victory as well.
- The home run scored by Echevarria is her first as an Illini, and second of her collegiate career
- Ellie Haggard leads the squad with four doubles, after only tallying one in 2025
- Haggard tallied her third multi-hit game of the year, and fourth of her career
- Haggard's home run is her first this season and third of her career.
- Ady Kiddy posted her fourth consecutive game with a hit, including her second career double, both of which came at the War Eagle Classic
- Alaina Miller tabbed her first multi-hit outing of 2026 against the Braves, the sixth of her career
- Sabalaskey's 5.2 innings of work represent the longest outing of her career
Up Next
Illinois travels to Raleigh, N.C. for the Raleigh Times tournament hosted by NC State, Feb. 20-22. The Illini will play Akron and Providence twice, along with NC State once. The game featuring Illinois and NC State will be streamed on ACC Network Extra.
