Illinois softball (3-6,0-0) heads to Baton Rouge, Louisiana, for the Purple and Gold Challenge this weekend. The team will take on Louisiana Tech on Friday and Saturday, No. 4 LSU on Friday, McNeese State on Saturday and San Diego State on Sunday. This is the last series before the team gets a break from traveling, as they play at home on March 13 for the Braggin’ Rights doubleheader.
Illinois comes in off a victory over Hawaii in the Mary Nutter Collegiate Classic, where they took two games in that series. Graduate student outfielder Kelly Ryono was a major part in getting those two wins in the series and is hoping the team has similar success in the Purple and Gold Challenge.
“We really feel like we’re building off of each weekend that we play,” Ryono said. “A lot of us remember the last time we came down to Baton Rouge. We had a pretty good weekend the last time, so I’d say everyone’s very excited.”
The last time Illinois went to play in Baton Rouge was in 2022 at the LSU Tiger Classic, where Illinois went 4-1. The only loss in that series at the time was to No. 14 LSU.
Illinois takes on LSU Friday at 4 p.m. Illinois has an all-time record against LSU of 3-4 and is hoping to tie the series back up this weekend.
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“We just kind of business as usual,” Ryono said. “You get in there and we do our thing hit the field, watch some film and then we’re off again.”
Louisiana Tech enters with a 9-2 record while also being 2-0 on neutral sites for this year. The only meeting between the two teams saw Louisiana Tech beat Illinois 3-2 in 2015.
McNeese State will face Illinois at noon in the challenge and comes into the game with a record of 11-4. Illinois has faced McNeese State three times before, winning all three games in the series. McNeese is currently on a six-game win streak and has not played a game at home once this season. The last time Illinois saw McNeese State, it ended with a five-inning, 11-2 victory in 2011. McNeese is led by sophomore utility player Corine Poncho. Poncho is currently leading her team in batting average with a .412 on the year, while the team as a whole is hitting a .309.
To end the challenges, Illinois takes on San Diego State on Sunday at 10 a.m. The last time Illinois played San Diego State was in 2011 losing 5-3. Illinois is 0-2 in the series against San Diego State in program history.
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