April 30, 2005

Game 1 Box Score
Game 2 Box Score

University Park, Pa. - The Fighting Illini baseball team won both games of a Saturday afternoon doubleheader vs. Penn State, taking game one 6-3 in eight innings, and game two 6-4. Catcher Chris Robinson (Dorchester, Ontario) had the game-winning hit in each game, and reliever Aaron Saving (Metamora, Ill.) had a win and a save on the day as Illinois improved to 26-13-1 overall and 14-5 in the Big Ten. The Orange and Blue are now alone atop the Big Ten standings ahead of second-place Minnesota (12-7) and third-place Iowa (11-8), who were both swept in Saturday doubleheaders.

"We haven't really been firing on all cylinders lately, but we're still in a good position right now," said Robinson after the team's third doubleheader sweep this season. "We just need to keep battling. It would be big to get one more win tomorrow and head back home with a little bit of a cushion."

Game one looked bleak early on as PSU starter Craig Clark no-hit the Illini for the first five innings while facing the minimum number of batters. But UI starter Jimmy Conroy matched Clark pitch-for-pitch, cruising through the first six innings in just 57 pitches while allowing only three hits and no runs. The offense gave Conroy some run support in the top of the sixth when shortstop Toby Gardenhire (Little Canada, Minn.) and leftfielder Ryan Rogowski (Livonia, Mich.) each had RBI singles to give the Illini a 2-0 lead.

Illinois added another tally in the seventh when DH Shawn Roof (Paducah, Ky.) reached on an error and eventually scored on a single by second baseman J.R. Kyes (Springfield, Ill.), and it looked like the Illini were in good shape. The Nittany Lions, however, finally got to Conroy in the seventh, loading the bases with nobody out and finally pushing a run across on a Gardenhire error to cut the lead to 3-1. With the bases loaded and still no one out, Saving came on in relief and gave up runs on a groundout and a single before getting the final two outs on groundouts to send the game extra innings as a 3-3 tie.

Illinois came back with three runs in the eighth, though. After a Dusty Bensko one-out single, Robinson doubled down the left-field line to score Bensko all the way from first, and later in the inning third baseman Chad Frk (Northfield, Ohio) drove in two insurance runs with a single to right field to give the Illini a 6-3 lead. Saving would then put down the Lions in the bottom of the eighth to pick up his second victory of the season.

Penn State stuck first in game two, getting a run in the first inning off UI starter Matt Whitmore. But Illinois scored twice in the second, thanks in part to an RBI triple to right-center by Kyes, and one in the fourth on an RBI single by Frk to take a 3-1. Whitmore ran into some trouble in the bottom of the fourth, loading the bases with nobody out, but he was able to escape the inning allowing just two runs.

With the game tied 3-3 in the fifth, it was time for more Robinson heroics. Rogowski singled with one out and Bensko walked with two outs to bring Robinson to the plate. On the first pitch he saw, the All-Big Ten catcher hammered an opposite-field three-run shot that put the Illini on top for good.

"I've been trying to separate each at bat," said Robinson of his approach at the plate, which has led to an offensive explosion as of late. "In game one today I had three terrible at bats, but came up in the eighth in a position to win the game. I was able to turn on a pitch and drive it into the corner. On the home run in game two, the pitch was up and I was able to get a good piece of it and drive it the other way."

From that point on, it was time for Illinois' defense to shine. Whitmore worked out of a second-and-third, one-out jam in the fifth when centerfielder Drew Davidson (West Des Moines, Iowa) fielded a Matt Lewis fly ball and fired home to nail a tagging Lance Thompson at the plate to end the inning. PSU got one more run off Whitmore in the sixth to cut the UI lead to 6-4, but Saving came on to get the final out of the sixth before, thanks partly to a great defensive play by Frk, retiring the side in the seventh to pick up his second save of the season.

"I can't say enough about Aaron Saving," said Jones of the Metamora, Ill., native whose line for the day was no runs, one hit, one win and one save in 3 1/3 innings. "He just gets people out. Today he gave us two great efforts in two games we really needed."

While Saving was the star on Saturday, both Illini starters had impressive outings. Conroy went six-plus innings and allowed five hits, three runs, two earned, and one walk while striking out a season-high six. Whitmore, meanwhile, went 5 2/3 innings, allowing nine hits, four runs, three earned, and one walk while striking out three to get the win and improve to 4-1 on the year.

"Jimmy was outstanding today," said Jones of the Rock Island, Ill. native. "He just ran into some trouble in the seventh and he's got to learn to overcome that. Whitmore struggled a bit, but he kept battling and put us in a position to win like he always does."

Offensively, Kyes was 3-for-8 with a run and two RBI on the day, and Frk was 3-for-6 with three RBI. Robinson had just two hits in the double-dip, but both were huge as he scored twice and drove in four to continue his hot week. In four games this week, Robinson is batting .500 (7-for-14) with three home runs, two doubles, 11 RBI and six runs scored.

Illinois (26-13-1, 14-5 Big Ten) will have a chance to win the fourth of five Big Ten series on Sunday. The finale between the Illini and Penn State (23-17, 9-10) is slated for an 11:05 a.m. (CT) first pitch. The game can be heard live on AM 1400-WDWS or on www.fightingillini.com. Gametracker will not be available for game four.