LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Illinois softball (8-15, 0-0 Big Ten) fell to Ball State, 3-1, and Louisville, 13-5 (6 innings), to finish its Cardinal Classic tournament.
GAME ONE
Karley Yergler notched her first strikeout to end Ball State's opening trip up to bat and hold the game scoreless. In the bottom half of the frame, Adisyn Caryl and Ellie Haggard tallied back-to-back base hits, and Jackie Yeager walked to load the bases, but Ball State logged the final out before Illinois could score.
Illinois pushed one across in the second inning, as Ady Kiddy walked, reaching second base after a sacrifice bunt from Ava Moore, and third base upon a groundout. An RBI double from Skylar Brennan scored Kiddy, earning Illinois the first run of the game.
Ball State tied the game in the top of the third, after a triple from Skylinn Pogue and RBI double from Lindsey DeRoeck.
Neither side registered another run until Ball State plated another pair in the fifth, propelled by a double from Pogue, RBI double from Ashlee Lovett, and a wild pitch. The final 2.5 innings passed scoreless, and Ball State took the win, 3-1.
POSTGAME NOTES
- Adisyn Caryl extended her reached base streak to 14 games, and now has a hit in four consecutive games
- Skylar Brennan went 2-for-3 at the plate, her seventh multi-hit outing of the year
- She extended her hitting streak to six consecutive games
- Karley Yergler got the nod in the circle, pitching 4.1 innings and conceding three runs.
GAME TWO
Illinois struck first in the third inning, jumpstarted by a double from Moore. Brooke Stang followed with her first career hit, a single, and Brennan walked to load the bases. Caryl then put the ball in play, reaching on a fielder's choice, and scoring Moore. Eileen Donahue capped off the scoring with a two-RBI double, bringing around Brennan and Caryl.
The Cardinals quickly answered with four runs in both the third and fourth frames, including a pair of two-RBI doubles from Madison Pickens and Camryn Lookadoo. In the fifth, Addy O'Dell added a solo home run to extend the Louisville advantage.
Haggard started the sixth with a base hit and Eden Echevarria followed behind her with a double, setting up a two-RBI single from Moore, cutting the deficit to four runs.
In the bottom of the frame, RBI doubles from Jordan Williams and Ava Venturelli, along with a two-RBI single from Chelsea Mack, secured the game for Louisville, 13-5.
POSTGAME NOTES
- Ava Moore was a perfect 3-for-3 on the day, driving in two RBI
- The game is her first with three hits for her career, and fourth multi-hit outing of the season
- Skylar Brennan was 1-for-3 on the evening, extending her hitting streak to seven consecutive games
- The double is her seventh extra-base hit this year
- Brooke Stang tallied her first career hit in her first career at-bat, and also notched the first stolen base of her career
- Eileen Donahue went 1-for-3 at the plate, driving in two RBI with her second double of the weekend
- Megan Nuechterlein got the nod in the circle, pitching three innings and tallying four strikeouts
- Nuechterlein falls to 0-3 on the year
UP NEXT
Illinois opens Big Ten play with its first home series at Eichelberger Field, welcoming Iowa, March 13-15. Admission is free for fans, and all three contests will stream on B1G+.
