Behind unusually subpar pitching and adequate hitting, the Illini finished 1-4 this weekend, dropping to 8-9 on the young season. Throwing a one-hitter is impressive. Unfortunately for Illinois, one stellar pitching performance still counted for only one win.

In the first game of the Judi Garman Classic, Illinois was overmatched by California Polytechnic State University, a team, who on paper, wasn’t as scary as advertised. 

Illinois was in a hole after the first half-inning of play, as Cal Poly scored six runs, rattling sophomore pitcher Addy Jarvis, resulting in her being pulled from the game before Illinois’ bats even got their first crack. 

But the Illini responded well, scoring two runs in the bottom of the first inning via singles from freshman Delaney Rummel and junior Bella Loya, cutting the Cal Poly lead to four. 

Needing the pitching to step up to complete the comeback, Illinois fell short, with freshmen pitchers Morgan Scivally and Taylor Murray giving up a combined six runs to push Cal Poly’s lead to 12-2. Due to the run rule, the umpires called the game, and the Illini dropped the opener of the classic. 

Having dropped the first game against Cal Poly, Illinois had a sense of urgency against its next opponent, Brigham Young, a team that had dominated as of late. 

After standing toe-to-toe against the Cougars, Illinois sophomore ace Sidney Sickels got figured out, giving up two home runs, one with a runner on base, to give the Cougars a 3-0 advantage.

The Cougars maintained that lead for a while with sharp pitching, but the Illini, who were previously cold at the plate, heated up. With three extra-base hits, the Illini took the lead 4-3, and they added on by capitalizing on the Cougars’ errors to make it a 6-3 ballgame after four up-and-down innings of play. 

Having a three-run lead with just nine outs to go, most Illini fans would feel confident with Sickels on the mound. However, despite throwing a complete game, the star player gave up a pair of runs in each of the final two innings to give the Cougars a 7-6 advantage.

In the bottom of the seventh inning, with Illinois’ back against the wall, the sophomore second baseman, Avrey Steiner, quickly singled to start the inning, giving Illinois the possibility to extend the game or even win on a walk-off. But the Cougars closer settled down and retired the next three batters to make Steiner’s single a moot point, securing a 7-6 win for Brigham Young.

“We are still learning how to consistently compete each game,” said head coach Tyra Perry, per fightingillini.com. “We have what it takes to be successful but we are still finding our way. Tomorrow is a new day. We have three games left and we will look to learn from our setbacks and come out stronger.”

Jarvis, with only one day’s rest, came out firing against the Colorado State Rams.

After a scoreless first inning, the Illini struck gold in the second inning with a couple of Ram miscues, jumping out to a 2-0 lead early. Loya smacked a solo home run to push the lead to 3-0, giving Jarvis plenty to work with.

Unlike the previous game, Jarvis took command of the game, securing numerous 1-2-3 innings, inching closer to a perfect game. Unfortunately, in the final frame, Jarvis’ code was cracked, with the Rams squeezing in a single to break Jarvis’ bid at perfection.

“Jarvis did an excellent job of keeping the Colorado State batters off-balance,” Perry said. “Our bats were hot and we were able to execute our game plan at a high level.”

Jarvis got back in the zone, retiring the last three batters and walking away with a complete-game-shutout victory over Colorado State.

Heading off to play the 13-3 Fresno State Bulldogs, the Illini needed to bottle up their previous performance to stand a chance.

The Illini came out aggressive and attacking with junior catcher Shelby Stauffenberg nailing a home run to jump out to a quick 1-0 lead after an inning-and-a-half of play.

With Sickels on the mound, the Illini initially held the Bulldogs scoreless until she gave up a two-run shot to lose the lead 2-1.

Steiner answered the call in the fifth inning, getting on base again with a leadoff double, eventually scoring on a Rummel sacrifice fly to tie the game 2-2.

In the bottom of the sixth, however, Sickels got a little wild, hitting a batter who eventually scored via an error.

Facing one last chance to tie things up and force extras, the Bulldogs shut the door quickly, retiring all three batters faced to win 3-2. The Bulldogs improved to 14-3 on the year while the Illini dropped to 8-8.

“We were a play or two away from taking the Fresno State game,” Perry said. “We have been on the wrong side of several one-run games this season, but I believe those days are limited as we continue to grow as a team.”

After losing three out of four to start the tournament, the Illini had a chance to salvage the Classic with one last game Saturday against the host, California State University, Fullerton, who came into the game 3-0 in the tournament. But even with that record, the women from Champaign weren’t intimidated. 

The Illini had Jarvis on the mound, who was coming off of a 5-0 one-hit victory. However, Cal Fullerton was able to get on her early, scoring the first two runs of the game in the second and third inning. 

Facing a deficit, the Illini stayed patient and pounced on Titans’ miscues, tying the game 2-2.

In the sixth inning, Jarvis surrendered another run, giving Cal Fullerton a 3-2 lead. But the Illini wouldn’t give up. Steiner manufactured another run, this time unearned, to tie the game and force extras. 

The fun ended quickly, though, with the Titans knocking in the winning run with a risky sacrifice bunt, handing Jarvis another loss and putting the Illini at 8-9 overall. 

The classic was unproductive if Illinois’ goal was to improve its record. However, given the bats coming alive, some hope was given to the Illini for future games. 

Next up, Illinois travels south to Louisville, where the team will play the Louisville Cardinals twice, and Oakland and Evansville once in the Red and Black Classic. 

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