CHAMPAIGN, ILL. — The Fighting Illini Softball team continued their winning streak Wednesday night with a 3-1 victory against Illinois State.
Takeaways
Illinois State: The Redbirds struggled early in the game. They struggled to respond to the Illini’s pitching. Illinois State was able to respond better when their opponent was in a scoring position, coming up with a way to keep Illinois from scoring more runs and stay in the game.
Illinois: Illinois’ strength in this matchup was their defense. The team only forced five hits all game and made key plays in the outfield to consistently send Illinois State back to the dugout. The game showed off Illinois’ fielding, even when the team was not scoring additional runs.
Key moment
Illinois’ Ava Moore and Gabrielle Debevec were the leaders of the defense. Illinois State kept forcing the ball down the center of the field, but Moore and Debevec were there to make a play. The two Illini totaled for five assisted outs and stepped up when it mattered most at the end of the game.
Key Stat
Even though Illinois won by two runs, the Illini had more than double the amount of hits compared to Illinois State. Illinois was able to get 12 hits, while Illinois State had five hits all game.
Up Next
Illinois will host Wisconsin in a weekend series starting on Friday at Eichelberger Field at 5 p.m.