May 17, 2008

2008 Big Ten Tournament Bracket

Game 1 Box Score | Game 2 Box Score

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. - Freshman left-hander Phil Haig fired a two-hit shutout to lift Illinois to a 2-0 win over Purdue in game one of the doubleheader on Saturday, but the Boilers fought back with an 11-2 victory in the series finale in front of a season-high 1,453 fans at Illinois Field. Haig struck out three and walked two, needing just 76 pitches in the seven-inning complete game.

With the split, Illinois (30-23 overall, 16-15 in the Big Ten) earned the No. 4 seed in the Big Ten Tournament, meaning the Illini will face fifth-seeded Ohio State on Wednesday at 11:05 a.m. (CT) at Ray Fisher Stadium in Ann Arbor, Mich.

"Phil did a great job of getting ahead in counts and keeping the ball down," Illinois coach Dan Hartleb said. "He was able to get a lot of groundball outs and our defense was very solid behind him."

With the exception of two mishandled sacrifice bunts in the fifth inning, the Illini defense was stellar in game one, turning three double plays, including a 1-2-3 twin killing and a 3-6-1 double play. Illinois also ended the game with a line-out 6-4 double play.

Haig was dominating, inducing 13 groundball outs and facing just four batters over the minimum. He found a groove early, setting the Boilers down in order on three groundouts in the first inning and allowing only one base runner in the second on a hit batter. Purdue managed just an infield hit in the third and went 1-2-3 in the fourth.

The Illini put up a run in the third without the benefit of a hit. Center fielder Kyle Hudson drew a leadoff walk and stole second. He moved to third on second baseman Joe Bonadonna's groundout and scored on shortstop Brandon Wikoff's sacrifice fly for a 1-0 lead.

The Boilers (30-24, 21-10) threatened in the fifth, loading the bases on an infield hit and consecutive fielding errors on sacrifice bunts by first baseman Ryan Hastings and Haig. But the left-hander induced a 1-2-3 double play and a groundout to Bonadonna to exit the inning unscathed.

Illinois added an insurance run in the bottom of the fifth when third baseman John Schlichter led off with a single and, one out later, moved to second on Hudson's base hit. Bonadonna singled to load the bases and Wikoff drove home Schlichter with a groundout for a 2-0 advantage.

That was all Haig would need as he worked around leadoff walks in the sixth and seventh by recording a 3-6-1 twin killing in the sixth and a game-ending 6-4 line-out double play in the seventh to notch his second win of the season and first career complete-game shutout. He allowed only one runner past second base and just three runners reached scoring position.

Game two wasn't as kind to the Illini, despite the fact that they took an early lead. Catcher Aaron Johnson led off the second inning with a single to left and moved to second on right fielder Daniel Webb's base hit. Johnson moved to third on a bad pick-off attempt by pitcher Kevin Cahill, and, two outs later, DH Dominic Altobelli brought him home with a base hit for a 1-0 lead.

But Purdue touched Illini starter Aaron Martin for four runs in the third after a leadoff single, a pair of two-out walks and two two-out doubles. The Boilers added a single run in the fourth on a solo home run, ending Martin's night after just 3 1/3 innings. Purdue sluggers Ryne White and Dan Black opened the fifth with back-to-back solo homers and the Boilers added another run that inning for an 8-1 lead.

After Purdue added a single tally in the sixth, Illinois got a run back on Johnson's solo homer down the left-field line, his fifth dinger of the season. But the Boilers tacked on two more runs in the top of the ninth to reach the final score of 11-2.

For the day, Johnson was 2-for-5 with a solo homer and two runs scored. Altobelli also went 2-for-5 with a double and an RBI. Bonadonna and Hudson each were 2-for-6 with a steal, while Hudson also scored once to break the Big Ten record for runs scored in a conference season with 40.

Hudson finished the series 7-for-16 (.438) with a double, three runs, an RBI and 2-of-3 stolen bases, while Johnson was 5-for-12 (.417) with a double, a homer, two RBIs and four runs. Bonadonna and Altobelli both hit .400 on the weekend, with Bonadonna scoring twice and driving in two and Altobelli driving in three runs.

Up Next: Illinois heads to the Big Ten Tournament in Ann Arbor, Mich., after earning the No. 4 seed, where it will face fifth-seeded Ohio State Wednesday at 11:05 a.m. (CT). The No. 4 seed is Illinois' highest since earning the top spot in 2005.