JACKSONVILLE, Ill. – The Illinois College women's softball team ran its Midwest Conference record to a perfect 6-0 with a 3-0, 8-1 sweep of Beloit on Saturday at Jessica Kamp Field.
IC has now won six straight and improved to 11-16 overall and 6-0 in conference play. The Buccaneers fell to 3-21 and 0-6.
Game 1 (IC 3 Beloit 0)
Once again,
Julia Drake did her thing. The senior tossed a two-hit shutout with 12 strikeouts to earn her sixth victory of the season and third of the week. Since Tuesday, Drake has allowed a total of three hits in 18 innings of shutout work with 30 strikeouts. In that period, she has three wins and a save.
IC broke open a scoreless game in the fourth inning when
Taylor Henry drove in
Cheyenne Anderson with a single. Pinch runner
Lucy Snow closed out the scoring in the inning when she came home on a wild pitch. The Lady Blues added an insurance run in the fifth when
Claudia Adam scored after a Beloit error.
Henry led the IC attack with a pair of hits and the Lady Blues' lone RBI.
Game 2 (IC 8 Beloit 1)
The Lady Blues exploded for six runs in the second inning to put the game out of reach. After
Elysia Hand rapped a two-run single that drove in Henry and Anderson, Adam and
Allison Mortland hit back-to-back triples. Adam's three-bagger drove in
Delaney Melton and Hand while Mortland's blast scored Adam.
IC added two more runs with single tallies in the fourth and fifth innings. In the fourth, Hand scored on a wild pitch while
Lizzie Snow scored on an Adam single in the fifth.
That run support was more than enough for the Lady Blues' pitching staff.
Hannah Crouch started and threw the first five innings, allowing a run with seven strikeouts to earn her fourth win of the season. Henry closed things out by recording four strikeouts in her two innings of work.Â
Adam and Hand were the catalyst for the IC offensive attack. Adam had three hits and three RBI while Hand added two hits, two RBI and scored a pair of runs.
Up Next
IC is back in action tomorrow when it entertains Lake Forest in a matchup of Midwest Conference leaders. The first pitch of the doubleheader is slated for 1:00 p.m.
