April 20, 2001

Box Score

Champaign, Ill. - The Illini offense picked up 15 hits and junior ace Andy Dickinson threw seven four-hit innings to lead Illinois to an 11-4 upset win over the Big Ten-leading Purdue Boilermakers this evening at Illinois Field. With the win Illinois improved to 20-19 overall and 8-8 in the Big Ten while Purdue dropped to 20-16 overall and 11-4 in conference play.

?After playing poorly against Purdue last year we wanted to come out and make a statement to open the series. That?s what we did,? said Illini first baseman Andy Schutzenhofer.

Illinois jumped on Purdue ace Ben Quick early, plating three runs off the senior in the first inning as Brady Ballard, T.F. Meagher and Andy Schutzenhofer led off the game with consecutive singles. Schutzenhofer?s single scored Ballard while Meagher came home on a wild pitch and Schutzenhofer scored on a single off the bat of Rob Fischer.

Illinois added two more in the third as Schutzenhofer reached on a one-out double, went to third on a single from Luke Simmons and scored on an error by the Purdue left fielder. Simmons came home on a single from Patrick Arlis. Illinois added two more insurance runs in the sixth, chasing Quick and getting an RBI double from Ballard and a run-scoring single from Schutzenhofer, who finished his night 3-4 with three runs scored and two RBI.

Purdue got on the board for the first time in the eighth, plating four runs to make it a 7-4 ballgame. Dickinson started the inning and was charged with three earned runs after loading the bases with no one out. He was pulled in favor of Jeff Gertz, who picked up two outs while allowing four runs to cross the plate, three of Dickinson?s and one unearned of his own. Matt Vorwald came in to collect the final out and did so after allowing two base runners.

The Illini offense got in all back in the bottom of the eighth. Chad Frk, who led off the inning by reaching on an error, scored on a two-out single from Simmons, while Schutzenhofer, Simmons and Fischer all came home when Patrick Arlis sent a bases-clearing double off the centerfield wall. Arlis finished his night 2-4 with four RBI.

Dickinson improved to a Big Ten-leading 8-1 after throwing seven innings. He allowed three runs on four hits while walking six and striking out six. Vorwald earned the save, his first of the season, after throwing 1 1/3 innings of scoreless relief. Quick suffered the loss to fall to 4-4 on the year.