On a cold Wednesday night at Eichelberger Field, Illinois softball (29-20, Big Ten 7-5) got off to an even colder start against Western Illinois. Despite a late-inning comeback, the lead was too big for the Illini to overcome as they lost 5-4.

Western Illinois got off to a quick start as they scored one run in the top of the second and four more runs in the top of the fourth. All five runs were given up by freshman starting pitcher Ashley Wright.

“It can be frustrating having to play from behind, especially on back-to-back days,” head coach Terri Sullivan said.

The usually hot-hitting Illinois offense also struggled early. It was frozen by Western Illinois pitcher Kamren Ferguson who held the Illini to only two hits and one run through the first four innings.

“We didn’t get the clutch hit and they were able to pitch their way out of trouble,” Sullivan said.

Illinois’ pitching and offense finally started to pick up later in the game. After Wright gave up five runs in three innings, junior pitcher Claire DeVreese shut out the Leathernecks in the final four innings. The bats also got started as the Illini scored three runs in bottom of the fifth inning. RBIs from senior Molly Lawhead and Kisten Martin brought Illinois back into the game.

“It’s easy to get frustrated when you’re losing but we weren’t going to run to a corner and get down about it,” Sullivan said.

The Illini’s big fifth inning would not be enough to catch Western Illinois though, as Ferguson stayed in the game and cooled off the Illinois offense in the final two innings to finish off her complete game victory.

Sullivan said she knows the Illini have had some comeback victories this season, but the bats were not able to give the team another one.

“We fell short at the plate today and couldn’t make the comeback,” Sullivan said.