COLUMBIA, Mo. – After exorcising one demon by eliminating DePaul in the NCAA regional softball tournament, coach Terri Sullivan's squad might have a new nemesis next season: the Missouri Tigers.

The eighth-ranked Tigers defeated the 18th-ranked Illini 4-2 on Sunday at University Field to advance to the super regionals.

"I'm proud of all of the players and what they did this season. It's not easy," Sullivan said after her team was eliminated by the tournament hosts. "All we can do is decide to be more competitive and work harder next year."

Illinois, which opened the tournament with a victory against the Blue Demons and bounced DePaul with another victory Saturday, was eliminated after losing its second game against Missouri this weekend.

The Illini (45-8) and Tigers were tied 1-1 after the first inning, but Missouri (49-11) went ahead to stay with three runs in the top of the third.

UI freshman Pepper Gay relieved starter Monica Perry (25-7) in the third, and Gay did not allow any runs in five innings.

"Pepper did a great job coming in for relief. She came in and tried to keep the game where it was at," Sullivan said. "I'm excited about where she is going to go next year. She is going to work hard to get this team to move onward."

Gay, who struck out three, finished 16-1.

After the Tigers took a 1-0 lead in the first inning against Perry, Illinois rallied. Second baseman Danielle Zymkowitz swiped her 36th base of the season after reaching on an error in the bottom half. UI first baseman Meredith Hackett's base hit moved Zymkowitz to third, and she scored after another Missouri error.

The Tigers went ahead 4-1 with three runs in the top of the third, but Hackett narrowed the Illini's deficit to 4-2 with her solo home run to left-center field in the bottom of the sixth.

Missouri will play Oregon in a super regional. The Tigers will play in the next round for the second consecutive season.

By the numbers
A closer look at some of the milestones reached by Illinois coach Terri Sullivan’s club this season:
45: Number of victories, tying the 2004 squad for the most in program history.
36: Number of stolen bases for second baseman Danielle Zymkowitz. Zymkowitz shattered Rachelle Coriddi’s previous mark of 23.
16: Number of home runs for Meredith Hackett, tying the second-best mark in school history behind Angelena Mexicano’s 24.