Box Score 1 |
Box Score 2 BOWLING GREEN, Ky. — Illinois softball (5-11, 0-0 Big Ten) dropped a pair of contests on opening day of the Hilltopper Spring Fling. The Orange and Blue narrowly fell, 7-6, to Ball State, before also dropping a game in five innings, 12-3, against the host, Western Kentucky.
GAME ONE
Ball State plated the first run in the bottom of the opening frame, after Maia Pietrzak reached on an Illinois error, and came around to score on an RBI single from Lindsey DeRoeck.
Ava Moore notched the first base hit of the day for the Fighting Illini, advancing to third base, but the final out came before she could score. The Cardinals added another run in the second inning, resulting from a second Illinois error.
The Orange and Blue got one back in the third, after a double from Skylar Brennan, single from Adisyn Caryl, and an error from the Ball State catcher, which brought Brennan home to score.
The scoring continued in the fourth, jumpstarted by base hits from Moore and Gabrielle Debevec. Keirys Click and Brennan scored Moore and Debevec, with a fielder's choice and sacrifice fly, respectively.
Skylinn Pogue of Ball State launched a solo home run in the fourth, giving Ball State a 5-3 advantage.
Illinois responded in the sixth, with base hits from Click and Brennan, and a sacrifice fly from Caryl scored Click. Ellie Haggard capped off the scoring for the Illini with a two-score home run, her fifth this season.
Ball State walked off with the win in the final frame, 7-6, behind base hits from Paige Kelley, Pietrzak and Pogue, and a wild pitch brought Pietrzak home to score the deciding run.
GAME ONE NOTES
- Ellie Haggard notched her fifth home run this season, and seventh of her career.
- Skylar Brennan added her fourth multi-hit outing of the season, including her fifth double on the year.
- Ava Moore notched her third multi-hit game of 2026, with hits in three of the four games.
GAME TWO
Western Kentucky got started quickly, with a leadoff double from Kendle White, base hit from Jenna Blanton, and three-score home run from Annie White. The Hilltoppers plated four more runs in the second, behind hits from Morgan Sharpe, Blanton, Annie White and Kennedy Stinson, and four more in the third, bolstered by a two-score home run from Maci Masters.
Western Kentucky brought one final run, a solo home run from Anna Mauck, across in the fourth. Jackie Yeager earned a three-run homer of her own to cut into the deficit for Illinois, but the Hilltoppers took the 12-3 victory in five innings.
GAME TWO NOTES
- Adisyn Caryl has registered a base hit in eight straight games, dating back to 2/14/26 against Campbell at the War Eagle Classic.
- Jackie Yeager notched her first career home run in the final frame, a three-run blast to center field
UP NEXT
The Fighting Illini return to action on Saturday, February 28, for a day two doubleheader, facing IU Indy at 10 a.m. CT, before a rematch against the Hilltoppers at 12:30 p.m. CT.
