Comeback Game of the Season

Tonight we played the Razorbacks and it may just have been the most exciting game of the season! We gave up 5 runs in the 2nd but the Illini never give up! In the third inning, Coach Kevin made a deal with the girls that we'd take them to Dairy Queen if they won the game or if someone hit a home run. Our girls must have taken the deal seriously in the 3rd when they got 5 hits (and two runs) and then Teagan struck out the side.  Our streak continued in the 4th when our girls scored 5 and Marissa struck out the side.  We won the game (7-5) in true Illini fashion!

Teagan earned the game ball going two for three ( a double and a single),  struck out the side in the 3rd, and had two RBI's!

A Close One

We played the Hurricanes today and came up short (4-3).  We made a little comeback in the 4th, scoring two runs, but got our third out leaving two girls on base.  We were "this close" to a terrific comeback.

Grace earned the game ball by getting two hits (a double and a single) and two RBI's.  The double Grace hit was the hardest hit ball we've seen her hit all year!

Tough Opponents, Tough Illini

Tonight we played the Sun Devils and lost the game 3-1.  The girls played tough and held the first place team to only 3 runs.  The highlight of the game was the "Third Inning Sophia Show", where Sophia caught a line drive, threw out a runner at first, and struck out a batter for the last out.  Exciting game - very exciting defensive inning!

Shut 'Em Out!

We had an incredible game again on Saturday!  The girls played their hearts out and won the game 4-0 (the Aggies did score 3 runs in the 5th, but the game got called for time, therefore the score reverted back to the 4th inning).

Highlights:

• Marissa, Abbey, Cynthia and Gianna got two hits each
• Sophia made two outs in the 4th, throwing them out (to Teagan) at first
• Teagan earned 2 RBI's
• Gianna and Tyler each caught a fly ball in the 3rd
• The girls had 6 hits (and all 4 runs) in the 3rd inning.  Five out of six hits were made with 2 outs.  That's the Illini "never give up" play!

Megan earned the game ball with her incredible defensive plays, one hit, and an RBI.  Way to play, Megan!

Good Pitching!

This was a pitching duel for the first 3 innings. Then our girls put up 4 runs in the 4th. In the 5th, the Razorbacks rallied, scoring 3 runs before Teags struck out 2 to end the game. In that inning Gianna almost came up with the catch of the year. On a ball hit deep to center field she just missed making a running catch - awesome effort. On another 'almost' play in the 5th, Megs cleanly fielded a sharply hit ball to 3rd and made a laser-beam throw that was too hot to handle!

The game ball went to Rhea for getting 2 of the team's 5 RBIs! She hit the ball hard in both of her at-bats. Way to go Rhea!

Short Handed

On Saturday, our girls played without half of the team. In order to field an official team, we had 2 substitute players from the Wildcats: Karina and Katie. Rhea, Cynthia and Grace all pitched for the first time this year. They all did a great job. We kept it close by scoring 5 runs in a 4th inning rally but came up short.

The game ball went to Grace Hunter for throwing out a runner at 1st base. She also hit the ball very hard during one of her at-bats, so hard that her mom (who was pitching) couldn't get out of the way. Oh, did I mention she pitched the 2nd inning? Awesome job Grace! *Special thanks to Lori Hunter for helping Coach 1st Base and coach pitching and to Jill for keeping score.

Out of Time, Not Out of Gas!

Holy cow - what an exciting game!  The girls rallied in the fifth inning and scored 5 runs to take the lead, but the game was called for time before we could get the final out.  Therefore, the score goes back to the score at the end of the fourth inning (6-3).  Tough way to lose the game after such an impressive 5th inning rally!

There were some terrific game highlights;  Gianna and Cynthia each caught a fly ball, Sophia had three hits, Megs had two hits and was hit by a pitch, and Gianna and Tyler had two hits.  Marissa and Teagan both pitched a three up, three down inning, and Cynthia got hit by a pitch twice and had a hit.

Gianna earned the game ball with her two hits and fly ball catch.  Way to go, G!

Special thanks to Shannon Smith for coaching third and to Lori Hunter for doing an amazing job keeping score. Thanks also to the Pivin kids and Smith kids for helping out during practices and games.  And a huge thanks to all the families for coming out to support and cheer the girls on each game!  (Photos in the slideshow may not be viewable on all mobile devices.)

Illini Tough!

Our girls kept the hitting going for a second game in a row.  Megan made a very nice catch at 3rd base and doubled up the runner to end the Hurricane rally in the 1st.  Probably the best defensive play we've seen all season.  Grace took one off the nose in the 3rd inning but stayed in the game to finish the inning: ILLINI TOUGH!  Gianna had a great game going 3-3, scoring 3 runs and an RBI.  Rhea also had a nice game by going 2 for 3 with a run scored and a whopping 3 RBIs!!!

Though there were many bright spots, the brightest of them all was Cynthia!  She received the game ball for an amazing game at the plate: 3 for 3 with 2 doubles, 2 runs scored and 2 RBIs.  A monster game, way to go Cynthia!

The Hits Keep Coming!

Theme for today's game was SMASHball.  The girls hit the ball well today.  Even more important, they ran the bases hard and paid attention to the coaches for running signals.  We asked them to focus on that before today's game and it really made a difference ~ way to go!

The game ball went to Abbey.  She broke out of a mini-slump and exploded with 3 hits including a double, 2 runs scored and an RBI.  Way to go Abbey!  (The photos in the slideshow may not be visible on all mobile devices.)