April 23, 2004

Box Score

Champaign, Ill. - The University of Illinois baseball team gave up a pair of three-run innings en route to dropping its series opener to Indiana, 9-2, Friday evening at Illinois Field. The loss drops Illinois to 13-20 overall and 5-8 in the Big Ten while Indiana moves to 22-15 overall and 6-7 in Conference play.

After Illinois threatened in the first, going so far as to have a run thrown out at the plate, Indiana and Illinois played three scoreless innings before IU broke through in the fourth. Shortstop Seth Bynum saw a one-out single fall in shallow left, went to third when Kevin Mahar followed with a single of his own and scored the game's first run on a sac fly off the bat of Ryan Donley. IU moved its lead to 2-0 when Josh Richardson followed the sac fly with a single to center that plated Mahar from third and it went to 3-0 when Richardson came in from second on an Illinois fielding error.

Indiana added a single run in the fifth. Corby Heckman doubled with one out, went to third on a wild pitch and scored when Bynum sent a two-out single to center.

Illinois got two back in the bottom half of the fifth. A single, hit batter, wild pitch and error led to a pair of runs as Vince DiMaria, who reached on a hit and Shawn Roof, who was hit by a pitch, both scored, DiMaria when Trevor Huisinga sent a sac fly to left and Roof when Chad Frk hit into a fielders choice ground ball.

Indiana moved its lead to five when it answered the Illinois rally in the top of the sixth when reliever Aaron Saving, who entered the game with a runner on first and no one out, gave up a three-run home run to second baseman Jay Brant as IU opened a 7-2 lead. It went to 9-2 in the seventh when Bynum connected on a two-run home run to left.

Ziemba suffered the loss, falling to 1-6 on the year after allowing five runs (four earned) on 10 hits in five innings. He struck out four and did not walk a batter. Saving allowed four runs on four hits in one inning of work.

Indiana starter Nick Vitielliss got the win, moving to 4-2 on the year, after throwing five complete innings. He allowed two runs on seven hits while walking one and striking out three. Reliever Adam Pegg got his third save of the year after throwing the final four innings and not allowing a run.

Illinois returns to action Saturday against the Hoosiers. Game time was originally scheduled for 4:05 p.m. but has been moved up to 1:05 due to forecasts predicting heavy rain Saturday evening.