Illinois (7-12) headed to Bowling Green, Kentucky, with momentum, but finished 2-3 at the Hilltopper Spring Fling this weekend. Despite their recent surge — winning five of their last eight games after an ugly 0-5 start — the Illini took a step backward in their new winning ways.
Hope to be had
Even with Illinois dropping a game to Ball State (7-6) and two to Western Kentucky (15-3), there are still positives to look upon. Western Kentucky, which went a perfect 5-0 this weekend, has been a juggernaut all year. After Illinois got pounded 12-3 in the two teams’ first matchup, it bounced back in Game 2. The Illini fell 2-1 in that contest, going toe-to-toe with a formidable team for all seven innings.
The bats continued to show up in their wins and in one loss. Removing the two games against Western Kentucky, Illinois racked up 20 runs in the three remaining games. The Illini’s ability to put runs on the board is clearly still in full force.
Outstanding efforts from Brennan, Caryl, Sabalaskey
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A pair of juniors, outfielder Skylar Brennan and infielder Addison Caryl, continued to lead Illinois offensively. Their performances in the young season have been nothing short of outstanding. Brennan, in her first year with the team, is slashing .375/.429/.464. This weekend, she racked up seven more hits in just 14 at-bats, one of which went for extra bases. Brennan notched a double in Game 1 against Ball State. She also drew two walks and didn’t record a strikeout over the course of the weekend.
Caryl, who leads the team in average, OPS and slugging percentage, is slashing .418/.493/.655 and she continued her domination on the diamond this weekend. The junior went 6 for 13 with two extra-base hits. One of which left the yard in the tournament finale, giving Caryl three bombs on the year. She, like Brennan, failed to K a single time throughout the weekend.
In the circle, like it’s been much of the year, it was the Abby Sabalaskey story. The freshman southpaw was superb in two of her three outings. She struggled in her outing on day one against Ball State, giving up six runs, four of which were earned, in 5.1 innings pitched. However, day two proved to be spectacular for the young left-hander.
Coming off over five innings pitched the day prior, Sabalaskey pitched back-to-back complete games, giving up just two runs in twelve total innings. She also racked up seven strikeouts on Day 2 and just five walks. Sabalsakey leads the team in numerous statistical categories, including innings pitched (55.0), ERA (2.29), WHIP (1.47), appearances (13) and batting average against (.265). It has been an unbelievable year for the freshman up to this point.
Takeaways from weekend L’s
These girls compete. Despite having one blowout loss, they stayed competitive in each of their games throughout the weekend. Game 1 was a thriller that simply got away from them in the final inning. Illinois found themselves down 5-3 in the top of the 6th; however, a Caryl sacrifice fly and a two-run home run (6) by sophomore catcher Ellie Haggard put Illinois up 6-5. That’s when the wheels came off in the bottom of the seventh.
Ball State led off the inning with a single and a sac bunt. It then tied the game on another knock. With a stolen base, another hit and another stolen base, it set the stage for the game-winning run to be scored. With runners on second and third, Sabalaskey threw a wild pitch, which scored the game-winning run.
In its second loss, it was a pitcher’s duel with previously faced Western Kentucky. Sabalaskey, as mentioned earlier, was fantastic and kept her struggling offense in the game. Illinois managed just two hits to Western Kentucky’s nine. All it took for Western Kentucky to secure the win was an RBI single in the second and a sac fly in the fourth. Neither of Illinois’ hits went for extra bases.
Despite these losses, Illinois’ competitiveness never wavered. Whether it was a hard-fought performance in the circle or clutch hitting late in the game, the Illini proved they could play with anyone this tournament.
Up next
Next weekend, Illinois will head back to Kentucky for the Cardinal Classic, hosted by Louisville. The Illini look to bounce back after a tough but gritty weekend in Bowling Green. Illinois will begin its weekend on Saturday against LIU (0-20). First pitch is scheduled for 11:30 a.m. CST.
