After a four-game weekend that featured just one Illinois win, the Illini bats heated up with the weather Wednesday as the Fighting Illini defeated in-state rivals Illinois State 16-8 at Eichelberger Field at Martin Stadium.

Illinois State (18-16, 8-4 Missouri Valley) started the scoring in the first, pushing two runs across the plate on a bases-loaded walk issued by senior pitcher Claire DeVreese and a wild pitch that got past junior catcher Lana Armstrong.

But Illinois (24-23, 3-7 Big Ten) answered in their half of the first inning, scoring a run on a single by Armstrong.

Illinois’ hitting chased Redbirds’ junior pitcher Amber Smith in the second, scoring four runs on RBIs by sophomore first baseman Hope Howell, senior shortstop Angelena Mexicano, senior third baseman Shanna Diller and Armstrong.

But Illinois State put up five runs in the fourth, chasing DeVreese from the game. Sophomore pitcher Ashley Wright came in for the Illini and allowed three hits and no runs in 2 2/3 innings.

“When (Wright) first came in, she might not have thrown to quite her strength, but she got us out of the inning and left a runner on base,” head coach Terri Sullivan said. “A big momentum changer in the game for us defensively was the one-two-three inning we finally had. It was the only one we had, but she had a strikeout in there.”

In the end, the offense made up for any pitching woes the Fighting Illini may have had.

Mexicano continued her outstanding offensive performance, driving in four runs in the game, including a three-run home run in the bottom of the sixth for her 16th of the season, tying the school record and effectively ending the game due to the mercy rule.

“We’ve been working with our hitting, make sure we get on task and make it contagious. I think every single one of us worked the pitches, worked the pitching staff,” Mexicano said. “There was not a pitch that we didn’t hit.”

Also powering Illinois offensively was Armstrong, who hit her seventh home run of the season and drove in five to increase her season total to 46. Katrina Ross added her own homer – also her seventh of the season – and knocked in three on the night.

“(We had) contributions throughout the lineup,” Sullivan said. “We made really good adjustments when they made pitching changes.”

The Fighting Illini look to carry their dominating performance into a weekend of conference play against Minnesota and Wisconsin. After Wednesday’s performance, the women are feeling confident.

“We’re a real resilient team, and you have to be that way at this time of the year,” Sullivan said. “Hitters are really in tune to pitchers and have seen a lot of pitching and you have to hang in there every inning, and we felt that we did that and it’s great to have a good offensive day.”