Illinois head coach Terri Sullivan constantly stresses consistency. But if there is one thing that characterized this weekend for Illinois softball, it was a lack of consistency.

On Friday, Northwestern pitching subdued Illinois bats as Wildcats’ sophomore pitcher Lauren Delaney went seven innings, giving up just two runs.

Illinois pitching did not match up as the Illini fell 6-2.

Northwestern (23-10, 9-1 Big Ten) did not waste any time, putting up one run in the first inning with the help of a double and a wild pitch. But it didn’t stop there. Junior catcher Erin Dyer homered to start the fourth and the No. 14 Wildcats went on to score two more in the inning on a single and an Illini error. They would score twice again in the sixth, one run coming on yet another Illinois error.

Meanwhile, Illinois (23-23, 3-7) pushed just two runs across the plate in the game. Freshman designated hitter Hollie Pinchback homered in the fourth and junior first baseman Katrina Ross went deep in the seventh for all of the Fighting Illini’s offense.

Offensively, Illinois came out stronger Saturday, but its pitching was once again unable to subdue Northwestern bats as it fell 11-6.

“From our performance (Friday), we made it our goal (Saturday) to pick up our offense and we did,” senior shortstop Angelena Mexicano said. “It took us a few innings to get it going, but I think we’ve got the right mentality and the right momentum now.”

The Illini offense was led by senior center fielder Sarah Bryers, who drove in four on a homer in the sixth and a triple in the seventh. The home run was the seventh on the season for Bryers, a career high.

“She’s been a tremendous leader for us, the leader of the team in her play,” head coach Terri Sullivan said. “It’s solely because of her hard work at practice. She puts in more extra time than anyone on the team.”

Mexicano also went deep for Illinois in the third. She would add another against Michigan State on Sunday to register her 15th long ball of the season, one shy of tying the school’s single-season record.

But six runs were not enough for the Illini as sophomore pitcher Ashley Wright allowed seven runs in only two innings.

“You have to give credit to Northwestern, obviously. They are really confident. Their hitters play confident because their pitcher is confident,” Sullivan said. “We aren’t the only team that had 15 strikeouts from (Delaney).”

Sunday featured yet another conference matchup for the Illini, when they faced Michigan State (21-18, 5-5) in a doubleheader.

The opponent may have been different Sunday, but the results of game one were similar.

“You just have to never really worry about the other jersey,” Sullivan said. “There’s so many ups and downs in the regular season or in championship play; if you just focus on what you need to do, it’s (going to) be a battle.” Illinois senior Claire DeVreese struggled again, going three innings and surrendering six runs as the Illini fell to the Spartans 11-3 in five innings.

Freshman first baseman Audrey Gallien belted the only home run in the game for the Illini, while second baseman Danielle Zymkowitz and junior catcher Lana Armstrong each added an RBI for the team in the losing effort.

But in game two, the Fighting Illini looked like a different team.

Even though Illinois was down early after a three-run home run by Spartan second baseman Gina Mondo in the first, it never stopped battling.

“At any point, teams can come back, even if you’re ahead by four runs it doesn’t mean that the game is over,” said senior third baseman Shanna Diller. “You always have to score runs and you can never be satisfied. You can never sit back on your heels and be expecting to win, you (got to) come out there and do it at the end.”

The Illini did not sit on their heels as they came right back in the first, scoring a run on a single by Pinchback. Mexicano added two more runs on her homer in the second.

DeVreese allowed five runs through six innings before surrendering a three-run home run with two outs in the seventh. But the Illini were able to hang on and get the third out and the 9-8 win in seven innings.

“I’m just impressed with our entire team (because) they could have hung their heads and said, ‘here we go again, we’re behind in the first inning. Same exact situation as the game before.’ But instead they came back and focused on their offense,” Sullivan said. “Now we want to use the momentum and keep playing good softball.”