Lady Blues Cruise to Sweep of Beloit

Box Score 1 | Box Score 2
BELOIT, Wis. – The Illinois College softball team had little trouble with Beloit College on Saturday afternoon, sweeping the Buccaneers by scores of 7-2 and 15-0. The latter victory came in just five innings as the mercy rule was invoked. IC improves to 9-7 (3-1 Midwest Conference) on the season, while Beloit falls to 4-20 (1-5 MWC).

Illinois College closes out the weekend of MWC action with a 1 and 3 p.m. doubleheader tomorrow against Ripon College.

Game One: Illinois College 7, Beloit 2
It took a few innings for the Illinois College offense to heat up, but once the bats were hitting, Beloit couldn't keep up with the Lady Blues. Mariah Hedges threw a complete game and improved to 4-2 on the season.

Illinois College took the lead in the top of the first inning when Savanna Brady drove in Jackie Reilly after Reilly had led the game off with a single. That 1-0 lead stayed intact until the fifth inning after Hedges stranded a pair of Beloit runners in the first and third innings, and retired the Buccaneers in order in the second and fourth frames.

Hailey Lesser led off the fifth inning with a double and she eventually scored on a bunt single by Shelby Koehler to make it 2-0. One batter later, Brady doubled home Koehler. As the inning continued, Marissa Knowles singled into center field to bring pinch-runner DJ Troli home, increasing the lead to 4-0. 

The IC defense ended the fifth inning with a double play and Hedges again got the Buccaneers in order in the sixth. In the seventh inning, Mickalah York pinch-ran for Brady and scored on a Beloit error, upping the lead to 5-0. Katie Prizer doubled into left to score Emily Kay and Ryleigh Keith had a pinch-hit RBI before Beloit could get out of the inning. The Buccaneers responded with two runs in the bottom of the seventh, but IC was never in danger.

The 11 Illinois College hits were spread evenly, with only Brady (3-for-4, 2 RBIs) having more than one in the game.

Game Two: Illinois College 15, Beloit 0 (5 innings)
The Lady Blues took no chances in the second game, blowing it open early and using a six-run fourth inning to meet the mercy-rule threshold. With Beloit unable to make up the large deficit, IC was able to bring the game to a close early. Maddie Nichols moved to 2-4 on the season, going the whole way and allowing only four hits. 

The bases were loaded with just one out in the first inning when Prizer hit a fly out to right field that advanced all three runners and scored Reilly for a 1-0 lead. After Mikayla Greenwood was hit by a pitch, Lea Hall scored two more runs with a double to center field.

Beloit left the bases loaded in the bottom of the first inning and IC used small ball to load the bases in the second inning with a walk and two bunt singles. Brady then singled home a run, followed by a RBI groundout from Frankie Sikora. Prizer added another RBI groundout before the inning was done, increasing IC's lead to 6-0.

The window closed for the Buccaneers when Illinois College plated six runs in the fourth inning. Brady and Sikora started the inning with singles and Prizer brought Brady home with a single to left. Greenwood then came up after a pitching change and delivered another RBI single to make it 8-0. Hall and Lesser added RBIs as the inning went along and Koehler singled home Lesser and Reilly to make it 12-0. 

In the fifth inning, a three-run home run by Elyce Trout that scored York and Katie Poe was the cherry on top and Nichols ended the game with a strikeout looking.

Reilly was 3-for-4 in the game and scored three runs. Koehler, Brady, Sikora and Lesser all ended with two hits apiece. Koehler, Prizer, Hall and Trout all had multiple RBIs in the game.