With Dad cheering her on, Danielle Davis delivers

May 11—URBANA — Danielle Davis had an ardent supporter in the stands Wednesday night in the final game of the opening round of the Big Ten tournament.

A rather vocal supporter at that.

Not that it was anything new. Her dad, Dexter Davis, is a regular at Illinois softball games. He's on the road every weekend from Texas to watch his youngest daughter play, and his vacation time gets spent at Eichelberger Field.

So there he was roaming the stands throughout Wednesday night's game.

Leading cheers.

Cajoling the other Illinois softball fans to get loud.

Whether his Illini daughter was at the plate.

No telling where his actual seat was. Not that it mattered. He was never in it, as he traipsed up and down the steps on the first base side stands and behind home plate all night.

Dexter Davis got the game-changing moment he was looking for in the top of the third inning. A reason for the fans who packed Eichelberger Field in the Illini's first Big Ten tournament game at their home venue to get on their feet. And to create a raucous, program-defining moment at the venue tucked off Florida Avenue.

Illinois tied Wisconsin at 2-2 before loading the bases for Danielle Davis, who launched a 0-1 offering from the Badgers' Maddie Schwartz over the left-field fence for a grand slam that set off a rash of bear hugs and high five after high five from her dad to anyone who would reciprocate.

That included the Big Ten Network play-by-play announcer Lisa Byington in the broadcast booth, as his shouts of "Boom baby!" were clear even above the cacophony of noise in the stadium.

The sudden 6-2 lead courtesy of one swing of the bat propelled 12th-seeded Illinois to an 8-4 upset victory against fifth-seeded Wisconsin. From barely getting in the tournament field to a 7 p.m. Thursday quarterfinal matchup with fourth-seeded Nebraska back at Eichelberger Field.

"It means the world to me," Danielle Davis said of the turnout Wednesday night. "My dad is my biggest supporter and No. 1 fan. ... This win is amazing. I think we really took them on and were like, 'We're not going to let you have it.' It was all guts and a lot of heart and a lot of confidence and a lot of energy."

Dexter Davis told some of the Illinois players before Wednesday night's game that the Big Ten tournament offered a chance to put a rocky season behind them. That winning a conference championship — on their home field no less — would help make up for a struggle-filled Big Ten regular season slate.

That's why Dexter Davis spent all of the game trying to whip up the Illinois crowd into a frenzy. To try and get everybody else to at least try and match his energy level.

"We wanted this to feel like our stadium," he said. "We wanted to make it loud, and we wanted to make sure Wisconsin knew they were in Illinois. So (Thursday) when the Big Red show up, we've got something for them."

The Illinois players fed off the energy the crowd created. Paired with their own efforts, it made a difference in the game.

"This crowd was insane," Jarvis said. "I hope they're back (Thursday) when we face off against Nebraska. They were amazing. I've never felt anything like that, and I know the rest of the team feels that way. Every time something happened they were doing a cheer, too, just like we were in the dugout."

Beating Wisconsin snapped a five-game losing streak for Illinois, which included a three-game home series against Maryland to close out the regular season. Commence the "Cinderella run" for the host team? It would take three more wins in the next three days, but the first has been secured.

"We're tired of getting kicked around," said Illinois pitcher Addy Jarvis, who threw 5 1/3 innings of relief for the win. "I know our regular season wasn't what we wanted, but I think we grew up (Wednesday). If that's happening, I think if we build upon this game, take it one more game at a time, we've got more in us. We've got a lot more in us."

Turns out Davis' go-ahead grand slam was the spark Illinois (29-26) needed. Wisconsin (27-20) opened up an early 2-0 lead before the Illini answered in one fell swoop in the top of the third inning.

Avrey Steiner opened the inning with a leadoff single before Kailee Powell drew a walk. Both advanced into scoring position on a wild pitch. Stevie Meade's sacrifice fly and Sydney Malott's misplayed tricky popup in the infield scored Steiner and then Powell before Davis' home run.

"When she it that it felt like game over," Jarvis said. "You still have to battle after that, but when someone changes the momentum that much if you stay locked in and keep it one pitch at a time we're going to come through."

Illinois coach Tyra Perry said Davis' grand slam ignited what had been a rather stagnant offense. Wisconsin cut into Illinois' lead with a single run in the fourth and fifth innings. The Illini had the answer both times, as their bats stayed hot and Jarvis worked out of trouble more often than not.

"It helped the rhythm and flow of the game," Perry said. "We were making pitches. We were making plays in the field. We were hitting the ball in key situations. That (grand slam) kind of sparked that.

"We were just locked in. We had energy. We played together as a team. Those were the things that were missing. We always had the talent. We've had the talent in previous years, and this was basically the same team. It was really nice to see all the pieces come together."

Perry told her team to celebrate Wednesday's win. Enjoy what was accomplished. But be ready to do it again Thursday against the Cornhuskers.

"This is a marathon, not a sprint," the Illinois coach said she told her team. "You have to win several games in order to win a championship, and we're here to win a championship. I kind of gently reminded the team of that while still urging them to celebrate what they did (Wednesday). We talked about, 'We have several celebrations coming forward. We don't want to use them all tonight.' I thought they took that in and were pretty good about it."