Illinois softball (16-24, 3-9) takes on Northwestern in a rematch from April 9, which saw Illinois fall to the opponents in six innings. Graduate student Angela Zedak dominated Illinois in their win, going 4-4 at the plate and driving in five runs.
The loss began a four-game losing streak for Illinois, which saw the team drop games to both Southern Illinois and Purdue. The losing streak was snapped after the final home game of the five-game stretch, where Illinois beat Purdue 4-1. Head coach Tyra Perry and her team understand the importance of the rest of the season and know that each game is critical going forward.
“We have to grow and learn,” Perry said. “We came off of a good Maryland series and then ran into Northwestern and kind of pumped the brakes. So this time, we’ve gotten some momentum, and we need to keep it.”
Illinois will need to rely on their bats as they currently rank fifth in the Big Ten in batting average. Graduate student right fielder Kelly Ryono leads the category for the Illini, hitting .348. She also leads the team in home runs, with seven on the season.
Chain hitting will also be needed for Illinois, as this is what helped them get the victory over Purdue in its series finale. Junior utility player Paige Berkmeyer leads the team in RBI with 32. This statistic is followed by sophomore infielder Sydney Malott, who has 22 RBI.
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“We have a really quick turnaround, so we’re going to keep this momentum, keep this confidence from the win, and just take it to Northwestern,” Malott said. “Unfortunately, we lost the first one against them, but one does equal two, so just taking one pitch, just one inning at a time, and all of us working together and staying together.”
The game against Northwestern is the start of an eight-game road trip for Illinois. Illinois will not be back home again till May 3 for their senior weekend series against Iowa.
“We’re road warriors,” Perry said. “I think most of them are okay as long as we don’t have to get on a plane, and we don’t. I think we’re tired of flying, but the bus trips are fine.”
Northwestern currently sits at the top of the conference with a record of 26-8. Their success has been led by sophomore infielder Kansas Robinson.
Robinson currently leads Northwestern in batting average with a .455. This average is currently the second-best in the entire conference.
“Just respect everyone but fear no one. We had a bit of fear in moments,” Perry said. “I don’t think we were afraid of Northwestern, but there were some moments that we didn’t quite just play our game.”
Illinois will take on Northwestern on April 16. The first pitch will be at 3 p.m. and the game will be streamed on the Big Ten Network.
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