March 19, 2003

Box Score

Champaign, Ill. - The University of Illinois baseball team saw its home opener spoiled by Northern Illinois University when the Huskies came in Wednesday afternoon and handed Illinois a 12-10 loss in a game highlighted by high-scoring innings and five home runs.

Illinois jumped on top 1-0 in the first inning and added single runs in the third and fourth inning to give freshman starter Jake Toohey a 3-1 lead heading into the top of the fifth. But Toohey ran into trouble and NIU capitalized, scoring four runs in the frame to take a 5-3 lead.

Illinois fought back to regain the lead in the bottom of the sixth, posting four runs in the frame, highlighted by a three-run pinch hit home run off the bat of Sean Patrick, his first of the season.

But NIU came right back in the top of the seventh, as the Huskies touched Illini relievers Reilly Smith and Ted Rowe for six runs and an 11-7 lead. Illinois came back to plate a single run in the bottom of the seventh, and two runs in the bottom of the eighth on a Brandon Cashman solo home run and Dusty Bensko run-scoring single, but NIU reliever Mark Badgley held off the rally to maintain NIU's 12-10 lead and save his third game of the season.

NIU reliever Mark Mallo, who threw one inning, allowing one run on one hit, earned the win to improve to 1-0 on the year, while Smith suffered the loss, falling to 1-1 on the year after allowing three runs on two hits.

Offensively, Bensko led the Illini attack with a 4-for-4 afternoon that included one run scored an an RBI. Freshman shortstop Eric Eymann was 3-for-5 with a run and three RBI, and Cashman was 3-for-5 with a home run.

Illinois returns to action this weekend when the team travels to Bradenton,Fla., for its annual Spring Break trip before returning to Illinois Field March 27-29 to host Indiana in the opening weekend of Big Ten play.