University of Illinois
LIU
Illinois Softball Set for Cardinal Classic, Schedule Adjusted Due to Weather
March 5, 2026 | Softball
PREVIEW
| Tournament | Cardinal Classic (at Louisville) |
|---|---|
| When: | Friday-Sunday (March 6-8) |
| Game Schedule (CT): |
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| Where: | Ulmer Stadium, Louisville, Ky. |
| Social Media: | Twitter | Instagram | Facebook | YouTube |
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — Illinois softball (7-12, 0-0 Big Ten) will return to Kentucky for its final non-conference tournament, the Cardinal Classic, hosted by Louisville. The Fighting Illini will now open the weekend on Friday, March 6, at 5:30 p.m. CT, against LIU. Game times have also been shifted for the rest of the weekend. The most up to date schedule can be found on FightingIllini.com.
LAST TIME OUT
At the Hilltopper Spring Fling in Bowling Green, Ky., Illinois picked up two wins over IU Indy, 10-0 (six innings), and Ball State, 4-2. Abby Sabalaskey and Karley Yergler held it down in the circle to help lead the team to victory, with Sabalaskey hurling the complete game against the Jaguars, and Yergler going the distance in the win over the Cardinals. Sabalaskey improved her record to 5-4, while the win against Ball State represents Yergler's first this season.
CONSISTENT CARYL
Adisyn Caryl has been a consistent presence for Illinois this season, recording hits in 15 of 19 games, including seven multi-hit outings, the most on the team. Against Ball State on Sunday, her three-score home run proved to be the game-winning hit, and her three-RBI base hit against the Jaguars on Saturday pushed Illinois into run-rule territory to seal the six-inning victory. Caryl currently holds an 11-game reached-base streak, also the longest on the team.
IT STARTS WITH SKYLAR
Typically the leadoff or two-spot hitter for Illinois, Skylar Brennan continues to post quality at-bats, reaching base in all five games at the Hilltopper Spring Fling. Brennan leads the team with five doubles, and ties Caryl and Ava Moore with eight runs scored.
IN THE CIRCLE
Freshman Sabalaskey continues to excel as the lone lefty on the Illinois pitching staff. She added two more complete games at the Hilltopper Spring Fling, including the team's first shutout victory of the year against IU Indy. She leads the staff with a 1.47 WHIP, 2.29 ERA, and 20 strikeouts on the season, in 55 innings pitched.
OPPONENT SCOUT
Long Island is yet to pick up a win this season, most recently competing at the UCSB Tournament in Santa Barbara, Calif. The Sharks fell to UCSB three times and Iowa State twice. Leading the way for LIU is senior Nyae' Villalta, who owns team bests in batting average (.400), slugging percentage (.700), and on-base percentage (.486). She is also 4-for-5 on stolen base attempts. In the circle, Sarah Wall (57.2 IP) and Gigi Clavel (41 IP) have split the bulk of the work, owning 7.04 and 6.66 ERAs, respectively.
Illinois will meet Ball State for the third time this season, after splitting the pair of meetings at the Hilltopper Spring Fling. Ball State is 7-6 on the year, most recently notching a trio of victories in Bowling Green. Lindsey DeRoeck has been a driving force at the plate, owning a .463 batting average, .902 slugging percentage, and .521 on-base percentage. The Cardinals have seen effective outings from nearly the entire pitching staff, with Brinkley Kita conceding just one run in five innings during the team's win over IU Indy last Saturday.
Host team Louisville is 15-4 overall, including 2-1 in ACC play, picking up its first conference series over No. 13/16 Stanford. The Cardinals gutted out a 9-8 victory over Stanford on Sunday, scoring four runs in the final frame to come back and walk it off. Bri Despines and Chelsea Mack have both added offensive firepower, with Mack 18-for-19 on stolen base attempts, a statistic good for second in the nation. Alyssa Zabala (2.05 ERA) and Anna Wise (2.50 ERA) have tackled a majority of the innings in the circle, with Zabala improving to 4-0 with the Sunday victory against Stanford.
SERIES HISTORY
Including the 2026 season, Illinois softball is 5-2 all-time against Ball State. The most recent meeting, last Sunday at the Hilltopper Spring Fling, resulted in a 4-2 victory for the Fighting Illini. Prior to this year, the sides had never met at a neutral site, and will now have faced off three times in the state of Kentucky.
Illinois is 4-1 all time against LIU, with all five prior meetings coming at neutral sites. The most recent battle came on March 17, 2017, in Clearwater, Fla., an 11-3 Illinois victory, in six innings. The first meeting between the teams was a 4-0 victory for Illinois in Raleigh, N.C., on February 16, 2002.
Illinois is 7-4 all-time against Louisville, dating back to a 6-5 victory in Las Vegas, Nevada, on February 13, 2005. Most recently, the Orange and Blue fell by one run, 5-4, to the Cardinals at Ulmer Stadium, on March 17, 2024.
FAMILIAR FOE
Coach Perry led the Ball State program during the 2014 and 2015 campaigns, where she was named 2014 MAC Coach of the Year, with the team earning a program-record five first-team All-MAC selections. In 2015, she led the Cardinals to a MAC Tournament Championship and the program's first-ever NCAA Regional victory over 16th-seeded Notre Dame. Ball State was her last stop before taking the helm at Illinois.
MILESTONE MARKS
Head coach Tyra Perry recently achieved her 700th career win as a head coach, over Providence on Saturday, February 21, in Raleigh, N.C. Perry is also just seven wins away from 300 victories at the helm of Illinois, which she could achieve as early as March 15 against Iowa.
