Illinois mustered just two runs in seven innings Friday as they fell to No. 14 Northwestern.

The Wildcats (21-9, 7-0 Big Ten) drew first blood, scoring a run in the first inning on a double and a wild pitch. Junior catcher Erin Dyer homered to start the fourth and the Wildcats went on to score two more in the inning on a single and an Illini error. They would score two more runs in the sixth, one of them on another Illinois error.

Meanwhile, the Fighting Illini (22-21, 2-5 Big Ten) were able to push just two runs across the plate in the game. Freshman designated player Hollie Pinchback homered in the fourth and junior first baseman Katrina Ross went deep in the seventh.

The Illini have one last chance to hand Northwestern their first conference loss of the season on Saturday before Michigan State comes in to town Sunday for a doubleheader.