Perry on mark for Illini

URBANA – Monica Perry is no longer on the verge of greatness.

She arrived full force on a Wednesday when the 229 spectators at Eichelberger Field were huddled under blankets or attired in winter jackets.

Officially, Perry's entrance occurred at 9:15 p.m., the moment she registered the first out in the sixth inning with a bases-loaded strikeout.

The freshman right-hander then owned the UI softball single-season mark for strikeouts, which she promptly extended by fanning the third and fourth hitters in the Indiana University batting order to preserve a 2-2 tie.

When the Illini had completed the Big Ten sweep, with Perry having pitched all 14 innings, her milestone had to be conveyed by reporters.

"I had no idea," she said. "That's nice."

In the opener, Perry fanned eight in a one-hit performance with Illinois winning 5-0. In the nightcap, it took Ashley Conrad drawing a bases-loaded walk in the bottom of the seventh – following an intentional walk to Meredith Hackett – to force in the decisive run in a 3-2 Illini decision.

Perry came back with 12 strikeouts in the second game, the second-best single-game performance in school history.

"It's an outstanding achievement. To do it your first year is a great accomplishment," UI coach Terri Sullivan said.

The Georgia native said she wasn't considered a strikeout pitcher during summer ball.

"I was more of a groundout pitcher," she said.

Though the majority of the batters she has faced have had at least one season of college ball, Perry was undaunted.

"I like facing older hitters. It's a challenge," she said. "It's a good experience for me."

Her effectiveness is enhanced by the ability to throw numerous pitches, with the rise and curve two she relies on for strikeouts.

"She has a good mix of pitches," Sullivan said. "She has the mentality that she likes to keep batters off balance and go for the kill."

Of the more than 184 innings Perry (19-10) has thrown as an Illini, the sixth inning of Game 2 stood out above all others.

The Hoosiers loaded the bases with no outs and the heart of the batting order coming up.

"The best players want the ball and thrive on pressure," Sullivan said. "She took things into her own hands."

Indiana built a 2-0 second-game lead before Hackett clubbed her team-leading sixth home run. Conrad followed with a fourth-inning blast that hit the scoreboard. In the seventh, she watched a full-count, two-out, bases-loaded pitch sail inside. She wasn't tempted.

"It wasn't borderline," said Conrad, who didn't mind not getting a game-winning hit.

"It doesn't matter how we got it done, just that we got it done," she said.

In baseball:

SIU 9, UI 6. A six-run sixth inning helped Illinois grab a 6-5 lead, but the Illini lost to an in-state rival for the second time in as many days.

"We didn't play well at all tonight," Illini coach Dan Hartleb said. "We really haven't played well all week and have to improve in a hurry."

The host Salukis won with a four-run eighth inning. Josh Parr, Willie Argo, Pete Cappetta, Aaron Johnson and Dominic Altobelli had RBI for the Illini, who had three errors.

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