Leesburg, FL - The Illinois Central College Softball team (8-11) wrapped up its Florida trip on Tuesday by taking on a Top 25 opponent in the Lakehawks from #24 Lake Sumter State (20-11) in a true road game. In the opener, a big third inning powered the Lakehawks to ending the game early (8-0), before the Cougars surrendered a fifth-inning lead for a 6-4 loss in the finale.

GAME ONE | #24 LAKE SUMTER STATE 8, ILLINOIS CENTRAL 0 (6 inn.)
The opener between these two got off to a pitchers' duel of a start, with neither team allowing more than one hit in an inning, and certainly no runs on the board.

In the top of the third, the Cougars got consecutive singles from Nivarra Oredina and Olivia Strawn with nobody out. A successful sacrifice by Kayleigh Harr put those two into scoring position, but a fielder's choice and groundout would follow to keep the game scoreless.

Immediately, the Lakehawks would capitalize. An RBI triple, bases-loaded walk, two-run error, one-run error, and a wild pitch all combined for a six-run inning and thus, a 6-0 lead after three innings.

ICC got a leadoff first-pitch single from Reagan Linder in the fifth, but she would be stranded.

The Cougars got singles from Bailey Herrick and Marlee Brown in the top of the sixth, but a pair of flyouts followed the Brown hit to strand two on the basepaths.

In the bottom half of the inning for Lake Sumter State, an error and RBI groundout gave the hosts their seventh and eighth runs of the game to end the game in six.

Cougar Hitting
Nivarra Oredina (SS) | 1 single
Reagan Linder | 1 single
Olivia Strawn (RF) | 1 single
Bailey Herrick (DP) | 1 single
Marlee Brown (1B) | 1 single
Zoe Eeten (CF) | 1 walk
Courtney Campbell (LF) | 1 single

Cougar Pitching
Emily Compton (L) | 5.1 innings, 3 hits, 2 earned runs, 6 walks, 1 strikeout

GAME TWO | #24 LAKE SUMTER STATE 6, ILLINOIS CENTRAL 4
The second game of the twinbill was a different story. In fact, ICC would take an early lead in this one, with an RBI single from Kelsey Bartels putting the Cougars on the board. 

A fielder's choice got one run in for the Lakehawks to tie it up. As a pitchers duel continued to ensue, with Broghan Hall holding up her end of the bargain in the circle. 

It wasn't until Kayleigh Harr singled up the middle with two outs, and was instantly followed by a first-pitch two-run home run by Bailey Herrick to give ICC a 3-1 lead in the latter innings of the game. 

However, it would be another big Lakehawk inning that would ultimately doom the result of the game. In the bottom of the fifth, a pair of RBI singles, a two-run single, and another RBI single pushed the Lake Sumter State lead to 6-3 after five. 

The Cougars almost made up for it right away, with Marlee Brown and Zoe Eeten drawing back-to-back walks, and a Reagan Linder sacrifice putting Brown and Eeten into scoring position, but a double play ended the inning. 

With one out in the top of the seventh inning, the Cougars weren't going down just yet. Bartels singled and Olivia Strawn reached on a fielder's choice with nobody out. Strawn would eventually come around to score on a steal of home, cutting it to a two-run game, but a pair of strikeouts ended the game. 

Cougar Hitting
Kelsey Bartels (SS) | 2 singles, 1 RBI, 1 stolen base
Kayleigh Harr (3B) | 2 singles
Bailey Herrick (DP) | 1 home run, 2 RBI
Marlee Brown (1B) | 1 walk
Zoe Eeten (CF) | 1 walk, 1 hit by pitch
Reagan Linder (2B) | 1 single

Cougar Pitching
Broghan Hall (L) | 6 innings, 7 hits, 5 earned runs, 3 walks, 2 strikeouts 

WHAT'S NEXT FOR THE COUGARS
@ Lewis & Clark Trailblazers
Tuesday, March 25th - 3:00 PM (DH)
at Glazebrook Park - Godfrey, Illinois
Watch Live / Live Stats (GameChanger; "Illinois Central College 2025")