April 30, 2002

Box Score

Champaign, Ill. - The University of Illinois Baseball team won a 7-6 thriller over Illinois State in 11 innings Tuesday evening at Illinois Field. With the win Illinois improved to 24-13 on the year while Illinois State fell to 17-23. ISU reliever Matt Clark suffered the loss after allowing one run (unearned) in one inning of relief as he fell to 0-1 on the season while Illini reliever Ted Rowe picked up the win after throwing one scoreless inning to improve to 3-3 on the year.

Andy Schutzenhofer collected the game-winning RBI in the bottom of the 11th, as the junior first baseman was hit by a pitch with two outs and the bases loaded. The hit by pitch, Schutzenhofer's seventh of the season, scored Brian Raymond, who had started the rally with a two-out bunt single, with the winning run.

ISU led throughout the majority of the game, taking an early 2-0 lead in the top of the first before building a 6-4 lead after six that the team held until the bottom of the ninth when Illinois rallied for two runs to force extra innings. In the bottom of the ninth, Drew Davidson singled with two outs and Joe Parenti was hit by a pitch after him. Davidson and Parenti moved to second and third on a wild pitch, and T.F. Meagher singled after that, scoring Davidson before Parenti came home on the same play on an error by the ISU pitcher.

After ISU scored two in the top of the first, Illinois took a quick 3-2 lead in the third when Patrick Arlis hit a three-run home run, his fifth of the season, over the left field wall. ISU answered with two in the top of the fourth and Illinois got one back in the bottom of the fourth, this one on a sacrifice fly from Arlis, to tie the game at four. But ISU tagged on single runs in the fifth and sixth to take the 6-4 lead.

Illinois used five pitchers in the game: starter Andy Dickinson (2.0 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 2 K), Josh Lane (3.0 IP, 4 H, 3 R, 2 K), Reilly Smith (3.0 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 4 K), Brian Blomquist (2.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 2 K) and Rowe. Offensively, Arlis, Luke Simmons, Davidson and Meagher each had two hits for Illinois.

Illinois returns to action Wednesday with a 6:35 p.m. game against Southern Illinois at Illinois Field before traveling to Michigan State for a four-game Big Ten series Friday-Sunday in East Lansing.