The Eastern softball team and Illinois combined Tuesday night for a sloppy, eight-error game that would be settled in extra innings with the Illini winning 8-7, scoring the walk-off run on an error by Eastern third baseman Kendyl McKeough. 

It was only fitting the game would be decided on an error, as both teams equally shared the dunce cap, putting up four errors apiece, leading to seven total runs in the game. 

The difference, Eastern’s final error cost them the game and saddled it with its 23rd loss of the season. 

Eastern and Illinois spent the entirety of the eight-inning game exchanging runs and leads (along with errors), until a ball of the bat of Annie Fleming ate up McKeough in the 8th inning. 

Eastern began the game taking a 1-0 lead in the top of the first inning, one that the Illini quickly erased in the bottom of the first inning scoring a run of their own. 

Eastern took the lead back at 2-1 in the fourth inning until the Illini stormed back in the fifth inning. 

Jade Montgomery was cruising for Eastern again. The junior pitcher, coming off one of her best starts of the season in a win over Austin Peay, was once again dealing for the Panthers. Through four innings pitched on Tuesday she had allowed just one run against Illinois in Champaign. Then the fifth inning came and with its coming, Montgomery’s good start went away. 

Montgomery rolled into the fifth inning having given up just four hits to Illinois across the first five innings and allowed just one run in the first inning off a sacrifice bunt. 

Montgomery then came back out to the mound for the start of the fifth inning and the Illinois bats came to life. 

In all, by the time the inning was over for Illinois, McKenna Coffman had replaced Montgomery on the mound and Illinois had accumulated five runs on six hits. 

Eastern decided it could play at that game too and scored five runs of its own in the top of the sixth inning and secured a 7-6 lead with Coffman still on the mound. Coffman gave the lead up in the bottom of the sixth inning, and Hannah Cravens replaced her on the mound. 

Cravens threw a scoreless seventh inning and retook the mound in the eighth inning when the Illini scored the final run. 

JJ Bullock can be reached at 581-2812 or [email protected]