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University of Illinois Athletics

Brooke Stang runs for home plate at Eichelberger Field in Urbana, Illinois.
5
Winner Illinois ILLINOIS 13-32
4
Maryland MARYLAND 16-27
Winner
Illinois ILLINOIS
13-32
5
Final
4
Maryland MARYLAND
16-27
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 R H E
Illinois ILLINOIS 0 0 2 0 0 0 3 5 12 0
Maryland MARYLAND 2 0 0 2 0 0 0 4 3 3

W: Sabalaskey, Abby (6-7) L: Keira Bucher (6-7)

Game Recap: Softball |

Illinois Defeats Maryland with Seventh Inning Comeback

RECAP

COLLEGE PARK, Md. — Illinois softball (13-32, 3-13 Big Ten) defeated Maryland, 5-4, on Saturday evening, to tie the series at one game apiece. Sophomore catcher Jackie Yeager tallied her third home run of the season, and freshmen lefty Abby Sabalaskey picked up the win in the circle.

HOW IT HAPPENED

Skylar Brennan led off with a base hit for Illinois and Eileen Donahue followed with a base hit of her own, moving Brennan into scoring position. A ground out from Ellie Haggard pushed both runners forward another base, and Keirys Click was hit by pitch to load the bases. The final out came before Illinois could plate a run.

Mariah Penta walked and Matti Benson sent a two-score home run to right field, earning Maryland its first lead of the day, 2-0.

Haggard led off the second inning with a walk, and Jackie Yeager launched a home run to left field, knotting the game at two runs apiece.

In the fourth, the Fighting Illini juiced the bases once again, behind a Maryland error, and hits from Haggard and Click. Once again, the Orange and Blue did not capitalize, stranding three runners on base.

Maryland regained the lead in the bottom of the inning, as Zayda Rocke was hit by pitch, and Anna McGowan brought around two more runs with the third home run of the game.

In the final frame, Yeager led off with a base hit to shortstop and Brooke Stang walked behind her. Ava Moore singled to left field to load the bases once again for Illinois, and Alaina Miller reached on a Maryland error to score Yeager. Brennan followed up with an RBI single to knot the game at four runs.

The game-winning run came on an RBI ground out from Adisyn Caryl, which scored Moore to earn Illinois the 5-4 lead. Despite a single from McGowan, relief pitcher Abby Sabalaskey was able to retire the side, concluding the 5-4 victory for Illinois. 

POSTGAME NOTES

  • Skylar Brennan was 3-for-5 at the plate with one RBI, her second game of the year with three hits.
    • Her last outing with three hits was February 13 against Binghamton.
    • Brennan improves her batting average to .341 on the season.
  • Jackie Yeager was 2-for-4 at the plate, with two RBI and one home run.
    • The contest was her second multi-hit game of the season and third with multiple RBI.
    • Yeager now owns three home runs this season and for her career.
  • Ava Moore was 2-for-4 at the plate, her sixth multi-hit game of the season.
    • Her fifth inning double was her second of the year, with the other coming on March 8 at Louisville. 
    • Moore has now tallied hits in three of the Fighting Illini's last four games.
  • Keirys Click was 1-for-2 at the plate and was hit by pitch one time.
    • Click has now been hit by pitch ten times this season, moving her into a tie for eighth on the Illinois single-season list, alongside Jordan Vickery (2021).
  • Brooke Stang was 1-for-2 at the plate along with a pair of walks, the first walks of her collegiate career.
  • Adisyn Caryl, Eileen Donahue, Ellie Haggard, and Keirys Click all tallied one hit each in the victory, meaning eight of the nine starting batters notched a hit.
  • Starting pitcher Megan Nuechterlein went 5.1 innings and conceded four earned runs, in her eighth start this season.
  • Relief pitcher Abby Sabalaskey pitched the final 1.2 innings to pick up the win, improving to 6-7 on the season. 
    • Sabalaskey allowed just one hit in relief.

UP NEXT

Illinois and Maryland conclude the conference series on Sunday, April 19, at 11 a.m. CT. The game can be streamed on B1G+.

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