BOWLING GREEN, Ky. — Illinois softball (7-12, 0-0 Big Ten) defeated Ball State, 4-2, on Sunday afternoon to finish its Hilltopper Spring Fling and begin the month of March with a victory.
Right-handed pitcher Karley Yergler picked up her first win of the season, throwing a complete game and conceding just two runs on three hits. The senior also notched three strikeouts in the victory.
HOW IT HAPPENED
Illinois recorded a double play in the opening frame, from Yergler to Ava Moore to Ellie Haggard at first, which Yergler followed up with a strikeout to end the inning.
To start the day for Illinois at the plate, Skylar Brennan battled back from an 0-2 count, leading off with a base hit. Keirys Click reached behind her on a fielder's choice and Adisyn Caryl walked, putting two runners on as Ellie Haggard came up to bat. Haggard launched a base hit to right center, scoring Click from second base and putting Illinois on the board first.
In the second inning, the Cardinals had runners on second and third, but a huge throw from Delaney Mosley in right field allowed Click to make the play at the plate and record the final out.
Neither team saw much traction through the middle of the contest, until Brennan recorded her second hit of the day in the bottom of the fifth. Click followed behind her to put two runners on, and Caryl sent a three-score home run to left center, increasing the Illinois lead to four.
A solo home run from Ella Whitney put Ball State on the board in the sixth, and Hayley Urban added to the tally for the Cardinals with an RBI double in the seventh, but Yergler struck out Jessica Hoffman to secure the Illinois victory, 4-2.
POSTGAME NOTES
- Skylar Brennan went 2-for-3 at the plate, her sixth multi-hit game, and third consecutive outing with a hit
- Adisyn Caryl was a perfect 2-for-2 at the plate, with a double and a home run, driving in three RBI on the day
- The game is Caryl's seventh with multiple hits
- The home run is her third this season, and 11th of her career
- The double is her second this weekend, fourth this season, and 25th of her career
- She has recorded a hit in 10 of her last 11 games
- On her birthday, Delaney Mosley went 2-for-3 at the plate, her third multi-hit game of the season and second of the weekend
- The Fighting Illini turned two double plays in a game for the second time this season (Last vs. Campbell, 2/14/26)
- Karley Yergler pitched her first complete game and first win of the season, conceding just two runs on three hits
UP NEXT
Illinois will return to Kentucky for one final tournament before commencing Big Ten play, the Cardinal Classic, hosted in Louisville, March 7-8.
