Box Score April 16, 2005
April 16 Game 1 Box Score
April 16 Game 2 Box Score
Champaign, Ill. - Illinois rebounded from a 6-1 loss in the first game of Saturday's doubleheader with Michigan by topping the Wolverines 4-1 in game two behind junior pitcher Matt Whitmore's (Prospect, Ky.) career-best outing and sophomore DH Mike Rohde's (Brookfield, Wisc.) two-hit day in front of 1,569 fans at Illinois Field. With the split, the Illini (20-9-1 overall, 9-2 Big Ten) stay in first place in the Big Ten, one game ahead of Minnesota.
Illinois' loss in the first game of the day was its first loss on a Saturday this year, but the nightcap victory improves the Illini's Saturday record to 9-1. The win gives them 20 on the season, the earliest the Illini have reached the 20-win mark since 2000, when they finished 41-23.
Whitmore threw a complete-game seven-inning outing, limiting Michigan (19-12, 2-9) to only four hits while notching a career-high five strikeouts against only two walks. The transfer from John A. Logan College needed only 88 pitches, setting the Wolverines down in order twice and facing only six batters more than the minimum.
"He was locating all three of his pitches," Illini catcher Chris Robinson said. "It's pretty easy to call a game when you can keep hitters off-balance like that."
After struggling offensively in game one, managing only one run on five hits, second baseman J.R. Kyes (Springfield, Ill.) led-off the second game of the double-dip with home run to left field to give the Illini an early 1-0 lead. Illinois added the other three runs in the third inning on left fielder Ryan Rogowski's (Livonia, Mich.) RBI triple that drove in Robinson and Rohde's two-RBI single through the right side that plated Rogowski and centerfielder Drew Davidson (West Des Moines, Iowa) to stretch the lead to 4-0.
"I was really impressed with how we bounced back," Robinson said. "J.R.'s home run was huge, and we kept battling. I was impressed with how we got back in it."
Whitmore gave up a run in the fifth on a solo home run, but only let one other runner go as far as second base, that being a double in the seventh inning.
"I was just spotting my pitches up," Whitmore said. "I made them swing at my pitch, and kept them on their heels with my off-speed stuff."
In game one both starting pitchers, Illinois' Jimmy Conroy and Michigan's Paul Hammond, were on their game early as the game was scoreless into the sixth inning. However, Michigan put up four runs in the sixth and two in the seventh to pick-up their second Big Ten victory this season. Illinois loaded the bases in both the bottom of the sixth and seventh innings but could push across only one run on a Trevor Huisinga (Bartlett, Ill.) sacrifice fly.
Robinson stayed hot after his game-winning two-RBI single Friday night by stringing together five consecutive base hits on Saturday before finishing the day 5-for-6. Rohde continued his best week as an Illini, going 2-for-3 in the nightcap with two RBI, and Kyes added his 12th multiple-hit game of 2005 with a 2-for-3 effort in the second game.
The Illini will go for their third straight series victory when they host Wolverines on Sunday at 1:05 p.m.
