April 11, 2001

Box Score

Champaign, Ill. - The University of Illinois Baseball team fell in a midweek game to Indiana State, 12-8 this evening at Illinois Field. Illinois (17-16) tallied four runs in the fourth inning to tie the game at four, then scored four more in the sixth to take a 8-4 lead but the pitching staff couldn?t hold on as Indiana State completed a series sweep for the year. ISU had previously beated Illinois 4-1 in Terre Haute on March 20.

Brady Ballard put the Illini on the board in the fourth with a bases loaded single to center, scoring Luke Simmons and Patrick Arlis. After an Indiana State pitching change, Andy Schutzenhofer also singled to center, bringing in Ballard and Chad Frk to knot the score at four after four innings.

With the score still tied four all in the sixth, T.F. Meagher reached on an error with one out and promptly scored on a Schutzenhofer single to left. One out later Patrick Arlis was hit by a pitch, and both he and Schutzenhofer scored on a two-run double off the bat of Simmons. Illinois closed out the four-run rally when Simmons came home on a Vince DiMaria RBI single.

Illini reliever Ryan Kvasnicka couldn?t hold the Sycamores in their half of the inning, as the senior let two runs in and put another two on base with only one out before giving way to Reilly Smith, who surrendered a three-run home run to first baseman John Purdom. Indiana State added two more runs after that off Smith and after a seven-run seventh led 11-8. The Sycamores would go on to add a single run in the ninth off Josh Gold to complete the scoring in the game.

Smith (3-3) suffered the loss. He threw 1/3 of an inning and gave up three runs (all earned) on four hits. Illini starter Tim Gorksi went 3 1/3 innings, allowing four runs (all earned) on five hits. He walked two and struck out three.

Illinois travels to Iowa this weekend for a four-game conference set against the Hawkeyes Friday-Sunday.