The Illinois softball team (11-17, 1-5 Big Ten) had a hard time keeping the ball in the strike zone this weekend against No. 24 Nebraska (25-7, 5-1), with 29 walks in three games.

“Our pitchers are a lot better than we’ve shown,” senior pitcher Jackie Guy said. “Our pitchers are capable of shutting teams down and throwing one or two walks a game, and that’s what we need to do. It’s just a matter of trusting our defense and trusting our pitches.”

Illinois opened its weekend Saturday with a pair of games in which the Illini allowed 16 walks. Senior pitcher Pepper Gay started the first game for Illinois and threw all seven innings, giving up 10 walks and hitting five batters, but allowing just five hits in the game.

“After the game (head coach Terri Sullivan) told me that I had 15 free passes, which is a ridiculous amount,” Gay said. “I know I can throw better, I just have to attack and trust my defense because they play really well behind me.”

Despite the walks, Gay had a lead going into the seventh inning of Saturday’s opener. Senior Jessica Davis hit a stand-up triple that drove in two runs in the first inning, and the Illini held Nebraska to one run until the top of the seventh when the Huskers exploded for five more, taking the game 6-2.

Pitch control issues continued into the second game, where sophomore Shelese Arnold gave up six walks. Arnold was backed up by some stellar defense from sophomore outfielder Brittany Sanchez, who made two diving catches in the game and drove in the Illini’s first run.

“I just went up there thinking, ‘Attack the ball, be aggressive,’” said Sanchez about her RBI-producing at-bat.

Illinois traded runs with Nebraska for the entire game, taking a 2-0 lead in the second before giving up a three-run homer in the fifth. Nebraska scored another run in the next frame before imploding.

After a Davis single, a fielder’s choice error allowed the senior to get in scoring position. Jenna Mychko loaded the bases before an infield single from freshman Katie Repole and a hit batsman knotted the game at 4-4. Tatum Edwards then walked Allie Bauch to give Illinois what would be the game-winning run. 

Illinois used just six pitches to record the final three outs of the game against Nebraska’s Nos. 2-4 hitters. 

“Coming away with a one-run victory after a one-run loss was huge for this team,” head coach Terri Sullivan said. “I know that they’re very resilient. Our schedule is the eighth toughest in the country, and it will go up after playing these guys, so we’ve been there and done that, and now it’s just about sticking together and playing good softball.”

The Illini came into the rubber match looking to get their first Big Ten series win of the year, but lost 7-1.

“I just don’t think we really played our best,” Sanchez said. “It all kind of collapsed today.”

All three Illinois pitchers appeared in the game and combined for 13 walks. Nebraska scored three in the first and pairs of runs in the fifth and sixth. Illinois scored its lone run on a double from Bauch in the bottom of the first.

“We didn’t play well enough,” Sullivan said. “You have to throw strikes. When Shay (Arnold) was throwing her pitches, we saw success, but we had those early walks. A good team, especially in Game Three in a series, will take advantage of the walks, and they did. And we weren’t as sharp defensively either.”

Sullivan said the Huskers “got it done,” making the Illini pay early and coming up with clutch hits and good defensive plays at key times. 

The Illini need to work on pitch-by-pitch concentration and consistency, Sullivan said.“We just have to stay mentally tough,” Sullivan said. “We have to get back out there and make ourselves better. We have to be really strong all the way through the game. I know this team is capable of (getting a win streak going), so now we just have to get out there and perform.”

Nicholas can be reached at [email protected] and @IlliniSportsGuy.