Illinois season ends with shutout

May 12—URBANA — Addy Jarvis spent a lot of time Thursday night looking at the Eichelberger Field scoreboard. Lamenting how she started the Big Ten tournament semifinal and the one run Nebraska scored in the bottom of the first inning.

Those feelings only intensified as the game progressed because that one run held up. The combination of Jarvis and relievers Sydney Sickels and Tori McQueen kept Nebraska off the scoreboard the rest of the game. Set the Cornhuskers down in order in the second, third, fourth and sixth.

But that one run still held up.

Illinois couldn't get its own offense untracked against Nebraska ace Courtney Wallace, and the Cornhuskers (34-19) moved on to Friday's tournament semifinals against top-seeded Northwestern with a 1-0 victory ending the Illini's season.

"It stings a little bit," Jarvis said. "I kept looking at the '1' on the scoreboard from that first inning wishing I hadn't been so flat. ... I had to make a huge adjustment. I came in and knew I was a little flat. I wasn't throwing as good as I was (Wednesday)."

The Illinois bats simply weren't as effective Thursday as they had been Wednesday in an 8-4 victory against Wisconsin. Wallace gave up just three hits and walked zero in her complete-game shutout, and the Illini (29-27) stranded four runners on base.

The pressure mounted for Illinois in the latter innings to get anything going at the plate. A one-run deficit was nothing — at least in theory — but a slew of first-pitch outs sapped the Illini of any possible momentum.

"I think you look to swing, but you look to swing at strikes," Illinois coach Tyra Perry said. "I think there were a couple times we swung at balls that weren't strikes. They wouldn't have been called strikes. The zone was a little tight, so there was no reason to swing out of the zone at all."

The pressure mounted because the stakes were clear for Illinois heading into Thursday night's game. They were the same stakes the Illini faced Wednesday night against Wisconsin.

Win or stay home indefinitely.

There would be no NCAA tournament appearance without a Big Ten tournament title. An inconsistent regular season — and real struggles in league play — necessitated four wins in four days to keep the postseason run alive. To live up to the expectations the program has established in Perry's tenure in Urbana.

So a frisson of tension sparked through the Eichelberger Field crowd all night. Increasing in intensity ever so slightly as each inning came to an end.

It generated a little more bite in the cheers — and jeers on some balls and strike calls — from the Illinois crowd. Then disappointment when Wallace posted another 1-2-3 inning in the top of the seventh to put an end to the Illini season.

"It felt different, but not in a bad way," Jarvis said. "Maybe we were being a little more analytical instead of that raw, crazy emotion, but I don't think it hurt us. I think the crowd was still great. We were still feeding off of that. Every time we made a play, they were screaming, and we were getting hype right after them, too."

That home field advantage just wasn't enough Thursday night. Chants of "Husker power" rang out from small contingent of Nebraska fans, as Illinois' season came to a disappointing end.

"We've had very few seasons like that since I've been here," Perry said. "A lot of it was based on hard work, guts and energy. Our energy this year was kid of up and down. (Wednesday) you saw all facets of the game show up at the same time. Whenever we do that, we have a chance and are a good team.

"We won 29 games this year. It's not like we were the 'Bad News Bears' per se, but our expectation are higher than that. That's a good thing. We're so upset — not happy — because we're used to winning."

That's the energy Illinois takes into the offseason. Multiple fifth-year seniors will move on, but the returning players have real motivation leading into next fall.

"Regionals is our standard," Illinois right fielder Kelly Ryono said. "The girls before us have laid a foundation, and it's our job to build off of that. I'm expecting a grind this upcoming fall because we are going to get back to where we're supposed to be."