May 14, 2005

Box Score

Minneapolis, Minn. - Illinois outlasted the cold, wind and rain Saturday afternoon in Minneapolis but couldn't outlast the Golden Gophers as Minnesota picked-up a 5-4 victory at Siebert Field. The two teams endured a 42 minute rainy delay at the start of the game and then three more totaling 57 minutes during the game as the Illini had their six game winning-streak snapped. Game two of the scheduled doubleheader was postponed due to the weather and will be made up on Sunday as part of a doubleheader that begins at noon.

"Our kids played hard today and didn't quit," said Illinois Head Coach Itch Jones after the game. "We just need to put the ball in play more. 12 of our 21 outs were strike outs; you're not going to win a whole lot when you do that."

Minnesota jumped on Illini starter Jimmy Conroy early, scoring two runs on four hits in the first inning. Illinois responded with two in the second when first baseman Dusty Bensko (Pleasant Plains, Ill.) led-off the inning with a double down the right field line, centerfielder Drew Davidson (West Des Moines, Iowa) doubled down the leftfield line to drive in Bensko, and third baseman Shawn Roof singled home Davidson to knot the score at 2-2.

The Gophers came back with three runs in the bottom of the second when right fielder Mike Mee blasted a three-run homer, his seventh of the season, over the centerfield wall. That 5-2 lead would prove to be all to Gophers would need as starter Cole DeVries struck out nine over six innings to pick-up his third victory of the season.

Illini catcher Chris Robinson's two-run bomb with two outs in the top of the seventh made the score 5-4, but UM closer John Gaub struck out Bensko, the Big Ten's leading homerun hitter, to end the game.

Robinson finished the day 2-3 with run and two RBI, Bensko was 2-4 with double and run, and Roof finished 2-3 with an RBI to bump his batting average over the .300 mark. Conroy, meanwhile, got the loss despite pitching his team-best fifth complete game of the season. He tossed six innings, allowing eight hits and five runs, all earned, while striking out four.

Despite the loss, Illinois is still in good position to capture its first Big Ten regular season crown since 1998. The Illini (19-7) stand 3.5 games ahead of Iowa (16-11), 4.5 ahead of Purdue (13-10) and 5.0 up on Ohio State (13-11), Michigan (13-11) and Minnesota (14-12) with six games to go. It is possible for Illinois to clinch the outright regular season Big Ten title on Sunday if it sweeps the doubleheader vs. Minnesota and if Purdue beats Iowa in their fourth and final game in West Lafayette, Ind.

"We didn't lose any ground today so we're still in good shape," said Jones of the team's 3.5 game lead over second place Iowa. "We've done our job up to this point and have put ourselves in a good spot. Now we just need to stay focused and take care of business down the stretch and we'll be in good position for a strong post-season run."

Illinois (32-15-1, 19-7 Big Ten) and Minnesota (25-24, 14-12) will play a doubleheader Sunday beginning at 12 p.m. Game one will be seven innings, while the second game will be nine. Both games can be heard live on AM 1400-WDWS or on www.fightingillini.com.