April 11, 2008

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CHAMPAIGN, Ill. - No. 23 Michigan knocked two wind-blown home runs in the first inning and Illinois was never able to grab the lead as the Illini dropped the series opener to the Wolverines, 9-5 at a cold, blustery Illinois Field. Third baseman Dominic Altobelli knocked a two-run homer and second baseman Joe Bonadonna doubled twice, but the Illini couldn't muster their ninth comeback win of the year. Freshman pitcher Phil Haig finished the game for Illinois, tossing three strong innings of relief with a career-high five strikeouts.

"Other than the fifth inning, we weren't able to string hits together tonight like we have done much of the year," Illinois coach Dan Hartleb said. "But Haig was a real bright spot for us. He came in and showed a lot of progress, which gives him more confidence and gives us more confidence in him."

The Wolverines (19-8 overall, 8-1 in the Big Ten) jumped ahead with three runs in the first on a solo homer by lead-off man Jason Christian that was followed by a walk, a bloop single, a sacrifice fly and an error for an early 3-0 lead. Illinois (18-9, 6-3) got a run back in the bottom half, though, when center fielder Kyle Hudson walked and reached second on an error by the third baseman on Bonadonna's ground ball. Shortstop Brandon Wikoff singled, driving home Hudson to cut the margin to 3-1.

After an inning-ending double play helped keep Michigan off the board in the second, left fielder Casey McMurray drew a lead-off walk and stole second in the bottom half of the inning. Hudson walked and Bonadonna ripped a double to left-center that drove in McMurray, bringing the Illini within 3-2.

But Michigan put up two runs in each of the third and fourth innings then added a single run in the fifth while holding Illinois scoreless in the third and fourth frames. But the Illini fought back with three runs in the bottom of the fifth, an inning kick-started by Bonadonna's second double of the night. One out later, Altobelli ripped a first-pitch fastball over the fence in left-center for his fourth homer of the year and first baseman Ryan Hastings smoked a double into the gap in right-center field, moved to third on a passed ball and scored on a groundout by DH Daniel Webb to cut Michigan's lead to 8-5.

Despite the fact that the fifth inning was Wolverine ace Zach Putnam's last as he had already thrown 110 pitches in a laborious effort, the Illini were unable to capitalize on the Michigan bullpen as reliever Michael Powers tossed four shutout innings to nail down the victory for the Wolverines and earn his second save of the year.

Haig got increasingly stronger in his third career outing, striking out a pair in the seventh, his first inning of work, but having one of the strikeouts reach base on a wild pitch, move to third on a wild pitch that bounced away from catcher Aaron Johnson and score on a fielding error. But he worked through a scoreless eighth inning and struck out the side in the ninth, allowing just two hits over three innings of relief.

Offensively, Bonadonna was 2-for-5 with a pair of doubles, an RBI and a run, and Hastings went 2-for-4 with a double and a run. Altobelli had two RBIs and Hudson went 1-for-3 with two walks, a steal and a run.

Up Next: The Fighting Illini and Michigan continue their series Saturday with a doubleheader starting at 1 p.m., a time change intended to help complete both contests before the impending inclement weather. Mike Stankiewicz will face the Wolverines' Chris Fetter in game one, while Scott Shaw will square off with Mike Wilson in the nightcap.