Sangamon Sun

The Illinois College softball team concluded its regular season home games with a doubleheader sweep against Knox at Jessica Kamp Field in Jacksonville, Illinois. The Lady Blues secured victories of 7-1 and 5-4, enhancing their overall record to 17-18 and their conference record to 10-2. Knox fell to a 2-22 overall record and remains winless in the league.

In the first game, senior Julia Drake was pivotal, allowing only one run on four hits over seven innings while striking out six batters. This performance brought her within 14 strikeouts of becoming Illinois College's all-time leader in that category. The Lady Blues' offense ignited with five runs in the second inning, featuring key contributions from Jaycie Edwards, Brooke Loveall, Allison Mortland, and Kayla Serpa.

Mortland and Calynn Gicante each contributed two hits for Illinois College. The team's scoring was rounded off by Cheyenne Anderson's triple and an Edwards sacrifice fly in the fifth inning.

The second game saw Illinois College rally for a victory in nine innings. Emma Nicholson drove in the winning run with a bases-loaded single during her final home at-bat. Hannah Crouch earned the win by pitching 4 1/3 innings of shutout relief.

Illinois College initially led after an Edwards single but trailed as Knox scored four consecutive runs. A Serpa double narrowed the gap before Gicante's seventh-inning double tied the game, leading to extra innings where Nicholson clinched the win.

Next on their schedule is a Midwest Conference doubleheader against Grinnell on Sunday at 1:00 p.m.