To win a championship, top of the line pitching is usually required, according to general consensus. Starters, mid-relievers and a shutdown closer are the usual ingredients used to create a dominant pitching staff that can make up for a team who is lackluster at the plate. Illinois, however, is going to have to play a little unorthodox if it plans on making this season a memorable and productive one.

Currently, the Illini have given only two pitchers real action on the mound: sophomores Sidney Sickels and Addy Jarvis. With the others having logged a few innings — although no more than six — Sickels and Jarvis have dominated with usage, with 107 and ⅔ out of the 120 and ⅓ innings the team has played. While some may question the strategy, it’s currently hard to question the results: Both of the pitchers have ERAs south of 2.52.

At the beginning of the year, Sickels stole the show, often out-dueling her fellow teammate, who wasn’t too shabby either, with a couple of complete-game shutouts. Even with the rough outing against Brigham Young where she allowed seven earned runs, her stats are still off the charts with a 2.43 ERA.

The most impressive thing about Sickels’s season so far is the versatility she has shown, with her being able to come in at any time to help the team. But, while expected, Sickels is starting to feel a little wear and tear.

“Yeah, it does,” Sickels said about feeling pain. “I have trouble with my finger, but yes, I like the role of coming in whenever to finish the last inning or starting the last game.”

While Sickels is potentially beginning her “roughest” stretch of the season so far, Jarvis has stepped up in the past few games, helping take some of the load off of her teammate.

Unlike Sickels, who’s in her second year in the program, Jarvis is a sophomore transfer. After her senior year of high school, Jarvis decided to stay in-state and attend Youngstown State University, which is only 20 minutes south of her hometown of Vienna, Ohio. After excelling in her solo season with the Penguins, finishing 2.58 ERA, Jarvis decided to push herself athletically and academically by transferring to Illinois.

“Illinois is a place where the sky’s the limit,” Jarvis said, per Illini Athletics. “As soon as I walked across campus, I knew I was in a special place. I’ve always pushed myself academically and athletically to reach the highest obtainable levels of achievement.”

Going out of her comfort zone, Jarvis has been especially hot as of late, winning two out of the last three decisions, highlighted by her one-hit, complete-game shutout against Colorado State. In the game, Jarvis was retiring batters at ease, completing many 1-2-3 innings. All of a sudden, it was the final inning, and she had a perfect game on the line.

“It was just smooth,” Jarvis said. “It was like how I threw last year. I kept them off balance. It wasn’t a bunch of strikeouts; I got ground balls.”

Only three outs away from securing a perfect game, a moment that would last a lifetime, Colorado State’s leadoff hitter rocked a ground ball through the infield, ending Jarvis’ bid for perfection.

“I didn’t realize that it was a perfect game until the fifth inning,” Jarvis said. “The seventh inning, I was just like, let’s get out of here without giving up a run.”

Jarvis was able to accomplish her secondary goal, finishing off the Rams for a decisive 5-0 victory.

Even though some might find this unorthodox, the players are, for the most part, rested enough to continue this two-person show. While both players love the current style of play, what’s most important is what head coach Tyra Perry believes works best for the team.

“It works for however the team is set up,” Perry said. “I’ve done it other ways in other years. Right now, those two are the sharpest, most solid, and if they continue to throw well, we will keep it up.”

With it looking like a busy season for the two sophomore phenoms, rest, ice and continued improvement from the batter’s box will be necessary to make this sustainable. Right now, though, the results just keep coming.

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