Over the last couple of weeks, Illinois (18-20, 4-8) showed persistence in the wake of deficits. Heading into its next Big Ten series on the road against Purdue (22-17, 5-8), Illinois hopes to continue to fight to its last breath every day.
The momentum the Illini are riding comes from their first Big Ten series win of the season against Michigan State (13-23, 3-10). Here are three things to keep in mind as the Illini make the quick trip to West Lafayette, Indiana.
Mashing the ball
Illinois has three batters that are on absolute heaters. Freshman utility player Keirys Click has been clicking lately, and senior outfielder Stevie Meade has found a groove and stuck with it.
Meanwhile, sophomore first baseman Eileen Donahue has been the spark plug and a huge role model for the team. She continued her hot streak Wednesday against Valparaiso (17-22, 6-11) by crushing her second grand slam in four games.
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It is important for her, as well as Meade and Click, to continue on their hot streaks. They started to stand out as the core of the order and kickstarted several big innings as of late.
Finding identity on offense
There were moments where the Spartans got to the Illini pitching last weekend, but the lineup came up with quick ways to respond in the bottom halves of innings. It didn’t always take a home run to plate runs. The Illini reverted to small ball and found ways to bring the runners home.
“Small ball is definitely the way to go,” Click said. “There’s never a wrong spot for it.”
The team appears to be finding their stride on offense. Whether that’s the home run ball, bunting runners over, or hitting and running, Illinois is finding home plate more often than not. Another player who is clawing her way off the schneid is third baseman Adisyn Caryl. She hit a home run against Valparaiso, which gave Illinois its 5-1 lead.
Beginning to gel together
With how young the Illini are, there were some growing pains during the early portions of the season. Lately, the Illini found more ways to win ball games and are making fewer mistakes. Head coach Tyra Perry feels great going into the upcoming series.
“We are neck and neck with Purdue,” Perry said. “So that’s a chance for us to get wins, but it’s also a chance for us to give them losses. So if we can play the way that we’ve been playing and continue to just get better and better, then it’ll be an awesome experience.”
Minimizing errors and bringing runners home continues to be the emphasis going into the home stretch. With 12 games remaining, the Illini look to be coming together and heating up at the right time.
When are the games?
The weekend series between Illinois and Purdue will kick off with a doubleheader Friday. Game one starts at 1 p.m., while game two will follow. The series concludes Saturday at 1 p.m.
