Illinois Falls to Louisville on Day Two of Cardinal Classic

Saturday, March 7

Louisville, Ky.

6 PM CT

University of Illinois

8-13

Louisville

17-5

Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	Runs R	Hits H	Errors E
Illinois	3	0	0	0	0	1	2	6	7	1
Louisville	0	0	0	6	2	0	X	8	11	1

Illinois Falls to Louisville on Day Two of Cardinal Classic

March 7, 2026 | Softball

Box Score

RECAP

LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Illinois softball (8-13, 0-0 Big Ten) fell to Louisville, 8-6, Saturday evening, on day two of the Cardinal Classic at Ulmer Stadium.

HOW IT HAPPENED

Skylar Brennan led off with a base hit for Illinois, extending her streak to five consecutive games with a hit. Keirys Click reached on a fielder's choice behind her, and Adisyn Caryl notched a base hit to load the bases. Eileen Donahue delivered the final blow with a three-RBI single, scoring Brennan, Click, and Caryl.

Sabalaskey held the Cardinals scoreless for the next two frames, before the Cardinals plated six runs in the fourth, behind a triple from Camryn Lookadoo, doubles from Jordan Williams and Ava Venturelli, and a sacrifice fly from Chelsea Mack.

The Orange and Blue got one back with a base hit from Caryl, who came around to score as Delaney Mosley grounded out to first.

In the final frame, Illinois notched two more runs after Ady Kiddy logged a base hit and Jackie Yeager launched a two-score home run, her second of the season. The comeback ended with Yaeger's hit, and Louisville secured the 8-6 victory.

POSTGAME NOTES

Eileen Donahue went a perfect two-for-two at the plate, including a double and three-RBI single
- The contest is Donahue's first multi-hit game of 2026
Adisyn Caryl went two-for-four at the plate, extending her reached-base streak to 13 games and notching her eighth multi-hit outing
Skylar Brennan extended her hit streak to five consecutive contests, and her reached base streak to six games
Jackie Yeager notched a home run in her lone at-bat of the night, her second of the season and also second of her career
Abby Sabalaskey got the nod in the circle, pitching 3.1 frames, and dropping to 5-5 overall on the year.
- Karley Yergler pitched 1.2 innings in relief, and Megan Nuechterlein registered the final three outs for Illinois in the circle.

UP NEXT

Illinois finishes its Cardinal Classic on Sunday, March 8, with a doubleheader against Ball State and Louisville, beginning at 1 p.m. CT against Ball State. The rematch against Louisville is slated for 3:30 p.m. CT, with streaming on ACC Network Extra.