Courtesy of Illinois Athletics
Urbana, Ill. – The Fighting Illini opened Fall exhibition season with a doubleheader against Heartland Community College and DePaul on Sept. 13, 2014. The pair of games drew an excited crowd, as Illini fans witnessed a pair of seventh-inning, one-run victories. Junior Remeny Perez led the Illini at the plate, hitting .600 with two doubles, a home run, a walk and two RBI, while 2013 NFCA All-Region outfielder Kylie Johnson had three hits, three stolen bases and three runs.
After falling behind 3-1 early to Heartland, Ruby Rivera led off the fourth with a single, then Perez, Brittany Sanchez and Nicole Tobon went back-to-back-to-back for three-straight doubles to tie the score at 3-3. The Hawks regained the lead on a pair of unearned runs in the sixth, but Allie Bauch hit a game-winning two-run double in the top of the seventh to lead the Illini past Heartland, 6-5.
Illinois jumped out to a quick 3-0 lead in the bottom of the first inning against DePaul, with the help of a two-run home run by Bauch. The Illini surrendered the lead in the middle innings, but Shelese Arnold came in in relief in the top of the sixth to get the Illini out of a jam by turning an inning-ending double play with the bases loaded to escape the frame without allowing further damage.
Nevertheless, the Illini headed into the bottom of the seventh trailing 5-4. However, the Illini led off the final inning with back-to-back singles by Alyssa Gunther and Sanchez, and a walk issued to Bauch loaded the bases. Sophomore Nicole Evans then came through in the clutch with a walk-off two-run double to lead the Illini to a 6-5 victory over the Blue Demons and a perfect 2-0 record to begin Fall play.
