May 15, 2005

Game 1 Box Score
Game 2 Box Score

Minneapolis, Minn. - The Fighting Illini squandered several opportunities in the second game of a forgettable double dip Sunday afternoon at Siebert Field in Minneapolis. Illinois fell 11-5 in the second game after losing a 6-2 decision in game one to drop its first Big Ten series of the season. The Orange and Blue have now dropped three in a row for the first time in 2005, but maintain a comfortable lead in the Big Ten race with a 32-17-1 overall record and a 19-9 conference mark.

The Illini are three games up on Purdue (14-10), Iowa (16-12) and Minnesota (16-12) and lead both Ohio State (14-11) and Michigan (14-11) by 3.5 games with four games to play.

Game one got off to a rock start when Minnesota's Andy Hunter hit a two-run homer off of UI starter Jake Stewart (Normal, Ill.) in the bottom of the first. The Gophers extended the lead to 6-0 by putting up four runs on five hits in the fifth, driving Stewart out of the game.

The Illini were stifled by UM starter Brian Bull, who held the potent Illini offense to just one hit through five innings. His only blemish in the seven-inning complete game was a two-run homer he allowed to Illini slugger Dusty Bensko (Pleasant Plains, Ill.) in the sixth, which set the final score at 6-2.

Game two was more of a see-saw affair as the Illini took an early 1-0 lead in the first after Ryan Rogowski (Livonia, Mich.) doubled, stole third and scored on a Chris Robinson (Dorchester, Ontario) groundout. The lead was short-lived as Minnesota scored three in the bottom of the first off UI starter Matt Whitmore to take a 3-1 advantage.

DH Mike Rohde (Brookfield, Wis.) had a two-out, two-RBI single in the third to knot the score at 3-3 and then after the Gophers grabbed a 5-3 lead with two in the bottom of the third, Illinois came back to tie the score at 5-5 in the fourth thanks to RBI singles by J.R. Kyes (Springfield, Ill.) and Rogowski.

From that point on, however, the story for the Illini would be missed opportunities. Illinois left the bases loaded with one out in the fourth and failed to score in both the fifth and sixth despite having the runners on first and second with nobody out in each inning. In all, the Illini left 13 men on base in game two. The Gophers scored two more in the sixth, three in the seventh and another in the eighth to seal the 11-5 win and give Illini reliever Aaron Saving (Metamora, Ill.) his first loss of the season.

Rogowski was a perfect 5-for-5 with two runs, two stolen bases and a double, and centerfielder Drew Davidson (West Des Moines, Iowa) was 2-for-5 with two doubles. Rogowski hit .471 (8-for-17) with four runs, two doubles and 2-for-2 stolen bases in the series, and Robinson was 7-for-15 (.467) with a homer, four RBI and three runs.

Illinois (32-17-1, 19-7 Big Ten) will travel to O'Fallon, Mo. for a Wednesday night match-up with No. 21 Missouri at 6:35 p.m. The game will be played at Hughes Field, home of the minor league River City Rascals. The two teams will use wooden bats for the border-war game. Following that, Illinois will return home to host Iowa next weekend in the final Big Ten series of the season.