The Illinois softball team may have arrived at College Station, Texas, at 4 a.m. on Friday morning due to flight delays, but fatigue didn’t keep the Illini from putting together a strong performance at the Texas A&M; Invitational.

A strong offense and dominating pitching from freshman Vicky Brown led the team to a 3-2 record for the weekend, including a near-upset of host school No. 4 Texas A&M; in the showcase game of the tournament.

The Illini opened play on Friday against McNeese State and found themselves behind early 4-1. The team fought back behind the bat of senior Sydney Lisy, who had two RBI-doubles that put the Illini in the lead at 5-4. Senior Brittany Koester’s three-run home run and Brown’s 11 strikeouts sealed the Illinois victory at a final of 8-4.

“Sydney Lisy had some big come-from-behind hits for us,” head coach Terri Sullivan said. “It was good to see her get some solid hits.”

Illinois’ second game of the day was a 6-2 loss to host Texas A&M.; The Illini jumped out to a quick 2-1 lead but were not able to hold on. The Aggies lineup was too much for Illinois to handle. The next meeting between these teams, however, would be a much different story.

The hot hitting for the Illini continued on Saturday as the team easily defeated Syracuse 7-0. With the lineup playing strong, Illinois eagerly awaited another shot at Texas A&M; in the second game of the day.

“We came out rough and ready to play them,” Lisy said. “We weren’t going to just lie down and let them run all over us.”

Under the lights of the Aggies’ home field and in front of 1,012 fans, Illinois gave Texas A&M; all they could handle. Brown held the Aggies lineup in check, leading the Illini into the bottom of the seventh inning with a 5-2 lead.

“They had a lot of rowdy fans there and it was nice to shut them up by leading most of the game on their home field,” Lisy said, who had her first career home run in the game.

As the teams went into the final frame, Texas A&M; showed why they were one of the best teams in the nation as they loaded the bases with only one out. Brown then walked in a run to move the score to 5-3. Disaster struck in the next at-bat as the Aggie hitter belted a walk-off grand slam and left the Illini with a 7-5 defeat.

“It just shows that it takes almost perfection to win the big ones and we’re almost there,” Sullivan said. “It wasn’t really a moral victory for us because the team is just playing to win. Personally, though, I’m proud of how they played.”

The heartbreaking loss didn’t distract the Illini though, as the offense continued to produce runs. In final game on Sunday morning, the team came back from a five-run deficit to beat Syracuse 12-7 and finish the tournament with a winning record.

Illinois’ strong performance helped move the team to an 11-9 record overall, but Lisy says the team now believes that they have the ability to succeed against the best teams in the country.

“It gives us confidence knowing we can compete at that level,” Lisy said. “We know we can beat a team like (Texas A&M;) any day.”