Illinois softball will host Indiana State on Wednesday night in a reprieve from Big Ten competition. The Illini (11-17, 1-5 Big Ten) have struggled thus far in conference play. 

Illinois is hoping to use its game against Indiana State (11-21, 2-7 MVC) squad s a chance to recover momentum heading into another tough weekend series against Northwestern (16-14, 2-3).

The inexperienced Sycamores pitching staff provides an opportunity for the Illini offense to score runs — something the team has been struggling with. 

Indiana State’s pitchers have a combined 4.88 ERA and have allowed 258 hits in just 31 games. Opposing teams are batting .302 against a Sycamores rotation featuring two sophomores and one freshman. 

Despite primarily playing the outfield last season, Indiana State sophomore Ashli Scott has been the team’s go-to pitcher throughout the season. Scott (5-6, 3.55 ERA) has made 28 appearances and has thrown five complete games — even throwing as many as 12 innings against Bradley last weekend. 

Indiana State has lost 13 of its last 15 games, which is the type of rut Illinois is hoping to steer away from after its first two conference series.

The Illini defense has committed 35 errors on the year, while the pitching staff has given up more walks (162) than any other Big Ten team this season.

Despite the struggles, senior pitcher Pepper Gay said her team has to avoid becoming frustrated.

“If you can control your emotions, then it shouldn’t be a factor,” Gay said.

But Illinois’ self-inflicted mistakes have cost it games all season long — including this past weekend’s 7-1 loss to Nebraska, in which senior Pepper Gay walked in the game-winning run during the seventh inning before allowing three more runs in the frame. In the third game, the Illini also saw Shelese Arnold throw a fifth-inning wild pitch and Jessica Davis make a fielding error that each allowed runs to cross the plate.

Sophomore outfielder Brittany Sanchez said the team needed to regroup in practice this week. 

“It all kind of collapsed,” Sanchez said of the team’s defense after Sunday’s loss.

Offensively, the Illini are 0-16 when scoring fewer than three runs this season. Junior outfielder Alex Booker is the only Illinois player batting over .300, while seven players on the roster are batting under .200. 

“We’ve had opportunities,” head coach Terri Sullivan said. “We’ve seen the top pitchers in the country, and I think our hitters just have to be really tough, get the barrel on the ball and simplify things a little.”

When the Illini’s offense is clicking, the team is nearly unbeatable. They have an 11-1 record when scoring three or more runs. 

Sullivan said the team cannot get too down after losing games, and that the Illini roster has the enthusiasm to pull out of slumps in order to get much-needed victories.

“You just have to come out and be the best team each day for seven innings,” Sullivan said. “It’s kind of like a boxer in a ring. You’ve got to take a lot of punches at this time of the year, and you have to be ready to give them back and be the last one standing.”

Sean can be reached at [email protected] and @NeumanntheHuman