The Illinois softball team competed in the NFCA Leadoff Classic in Columbus, Ga., this weekend. The Illini (4-7) got in their two games on Friday, but the final two days of compeition were cancelled due to heavy rain in the Columbus region.

The Illini started the tournament off on Friday when they took on Florida. The Illini suffered a heartbraking loss after getting out to an 8-4 lead over the Gators; Florida rallied to defeat Illinois 11-10 in nine innings. The game saw three home runs by the Illini as sophomore Shanna Diller was 3-for-5 with two runs scored and two RBI’s. Sophomore Angelena Mexicano went 2-for-5 with a double, a home run and two runs scored. Her home run in the third inning made it 4-1 Illinois. But a Florida three-run shot by first baseman Melissa Zick tied the score at 4.

Then in the fifth inning, Diller singled and senior firstbaseman Jenna Hall walked. Mexicano’s shot into the gap scored two, while junior Molly Lawhead’s home run made the score 8-4 in favor of the Illini.

A Zick homer made the score 9-7 Illinois, but in its final at-bat Florida tied the score. Neither team scored in the eighth inning, but the Illini scored a run in the top of the ninth with a Kacey Coonce single to right field. The Gators, though, had two runs in the ninth to get the win.

Twenty-five minutes later, Illinois took on No. 17 Nebraska and suffered a 21-1, 5-inning defeat. The Illini suffered their most lopsided defeat in Illini softball history, after the Cornhuskers scored seven runs in the first inning and eight in the second.

Illinois will take nearly a two-week break before going to Clearwater, Fla., for the USF/Adidas Invitational on March 9-12.