March 18, 2006

Box Score

SARASOTA, Fla. - Ryan Hastings was 3-for-5 with three runs and two RBI, and Ben Reeser threw three shutout innings of relief as Illinois came back from a five-run deficit to beat Northern Iowa 13-8 in front of 143 fans at Ed Smith Stadium. The Illini racked up 19 hits, two short of a season high, and UNI committed eight errors in the final game of its spring trip.

"Our players responded very well to the things we talked about and tried to improve on from last weekend," Illinois coach Dan Hartleb said. "Coming off the three losses, this game was very, very important to get off on the right foot and get the season going in the direction we want it to go."

Down 1-0 after an inning, the Illini tied the game when Hastings legged out a bunt single and moved to second on a wild pitch. Rightfielder Trevor Huisinga then drove him in with a base hit over the shortstop's head to tie the game. But Illini starter Jake Toohey gave up five runs in the bottom of the second, including a grand slam Featherston, as the Panthers took a 6-1 lead.

Illinois fought back with three in the third inning as UNI struggled in the field. With one out, leftfielder Ryan Snowden walked and moved to third on Mike Rohde's double off the right-field wall. First baseman Dave Schultz drove in Snowden with a groundout to first base and Rohde scored when the shortstop booted Shawn Roof's ground ball. Catcher Lars Davis singled through the right side and Roof advanced to third before scoring on a fielding error by the right fielder to bring the Illini within two, 6-4.

After scoring once and giving up a run in the fourth, Illinois took the lead with three runs in the top of the fifth. Roof drew a walk and moved to second on a wild pitch. One out later, Hastings walked before designated hitter Dominic Altobelli singled to load the bases. Huisinga plated Roof with a sacrifice fly to right and centerfielder Kyle Hudson looped a two-out two-run single into left field to give Illinois an 8-7 lead. The Illini added to the lead in the sixth, putting together two runs on four hits and increasing the margin to 10-7.

Illinois tacked on three more in the eighth as Northern Iowa ran out of pitching at the end of its week in Florida, stringing together five hits and an error, the Panthers' eighth of the game. Rohde tripled to lead off, Hastings drove him in with a single, Altobelli singled and Hastings scored on a throwing error by the leftfielder. Hudson then collected his third RBI of the night with a base hit to left-center, giving Illinois a 13-7 lead.

Ben Reeser was impressive in only his third collegiate outing, shutting down a hot UNI lineup in three shutout innings of relief. The righthanded freshman got the first win of his career, allowing only two hits while striking out five and not allowing a walk. Offensively, Hudson was 3-for-5 with three RBI, Huisinga was 2-for-4 with two RBI and Altobelli went 2-for-5 with two runs. Davis had three hits and Roof scored three times.

"Defensively, we were very strong as well," Hartleb said. "And a lot of that came from the fact that after the second inning our pitching was very good. Reeser showed a lot of maturity by battling and keeping the ball down in the strike zone."

The Illini return to action tomorrow at 9 a.m. (CT) against Illinois-Chicago, who faced Indiana at Ed Smith Stadium following the Illini-UNI game.