March 5, 2006

Box Score

TAMPA, Fla. - Redshirt-freshman Scott Shaw threw five shutout innings of four-hit ball and three players collected two hits to propel Illinois to a 7-6 win against South Florida and a three-game sweep of the Bulls. It is the Illini's first non-conference three-game sweep since dusting off Texas-Pan American in 2000.

Shawn Roof had his second straight two-hit day after moving to third base, driving in a run and scoring once, and Chase Kliment went 2-for-5 with a double, a run and an RBI while getting his first start of the year in left field. Right fielder Ryan Snowden also had two hits, a run and an RBI for Illinois, which racked up its fourth straight 10-hit game.

"I'm proud of how our guys fought back after last weekend to get back to .500," Illini coach Dan Hartleb said. "we moved the ball around the field and some people produced in positions they hadn't played yet."

After winning two straight against the Bulls, Hartleb tried a new lineup and the Illini responded by jumping out early with a run in the first inning. Third baseman Shawn Roof reached on a two-base error by the right fielder and moved to third on second baseman Ryan Hastings' flyout to right field. Left fielder Chase Kliment drove Roof in with a double down the left field line to give Illinois a 1-0 lead.

But USF recovered with a pair of runs in the bottom of the sixth, but the Illini recovered with two more in the seventh when catcher Lars Davis led off with a single up the middle and shortstop Dominic Altobelli drove a double to the gap in left-center for his first collegiate hit and RBI. Altobelli advanced to third on the throw home and scored one batter later on centerfielder Kyle Hudson's sacrifice fly to left field, giving the Illini a 3-2 lead.

The Bulls loaded the bases with none out in the seventh, but Illinois reliever Jake Stewart worked out of the jam only giving up one run by coaxing a 4-6-3 double play and forcing a flyout as the Bulls tied the game 3-3.

The Illini appeared to pull away in the eighth with a four-spot as Kliment singled and moved to second on a wild pitch. One out later, Snowden drove him in with a single to right. Davis walked and both runners moved up a base on a balk. After another out, Hudson walked to load the bases and pinch hitter Dave Schultz singled to right to drive in Snowden. Davis scored on a fielding error by the right fielder, and Roof drove in Hudson with a bloop single to center, giving Illinois a 7-3 lead.

"Shaw did a good job," Hartleb said. "When you win the first two games and get an early lead, sometimes that gets the other team down. He put zeros on the board and let us take control of the game."

USF threatened in the ninth, loading the bases and scoring three runs before reliever Brian Long nailed it down with consecutive flyouts, giving the Illini a 7-6 win and a three-game weekend sweep of the Bulls.

On the weekend, Davis hit .500 with four runs and three walks, and Kliment hit .308 with a home run, a double and four RBI. Brian Blomquist kept his season ERA at 0.00 with six shutout innings on Friday, picking up his first win of the year, and Shaw tossed five shutout innings today to lower his ERA to 2.25.