May 3, 2005

Box Score

Carbondale, Ill. - Illinois tied the game with a run in a ninth and then scored two in the 10th to top Southern Illinois, 9-7, Tuesday night at Abe Martin Field in Carbondale. Shortstop Toby Gardenhire (Little Canada, Minn.) doubled and scored the go-ahead run in the extra frame and Aaron Saving (Metamora, Ill.) retired the Salukis in order in the bottom half to get the win as Illinois improved to 27-14-1 on the season and SIU fell to 28-17.

"Our offense just kept plugging away," said Head Coach Itch Jones of the team's never-say-die attitude. "Our hitters have done a great job of getting the most out of every out. They've never given up in a game and always feel like they're still in it if there's an out left."

The game was a seesaw affair that saw Illinois jump out to an early 2-0 lead on a J.R. Kyes (Springfield, Ill.) fly ball in the third that scored third baseman Shawn Roof (Paducah, Ky.), and a squeeze play by right fielder Trevor Huisinga (Bartlett, Ill.) in the fourth that scored designated hitter Mike Rohde (Brookfield, Wisc.).

Sophomore lefthander Jonathan Smiley (East Lynn, Ill.) got his first career start and made the most of it, allowing just one hit and no runs through four innings before running into trouble in the fifth. SIU scored two in the fifth to tie the game, but Illinois got the two right back in the top of the sixth on a Roof sacrifice fly and a throwing error by the catcher that scored centerfielder Drew Davidson (West Des Moines, Iowa).

SIU then scored two in the bottom of the sixth and three in the seventh off of the Illini bullpen to take a 7-5 lead, but the Orange and Blue would not go away. Illinois inched to within 7-6 on a Gardenhire RBI single in the 8th and then tied it in the ninth when catcher Chris Robinson (Dorchester, Ontario) doubled and scored on a Rohde single to make the score 7-7.

Gardenhire then led-off the 10th with a double and moved to third on a throwing error on a Kyes sacrifice bunt attempt. A Ryan Rogowski (Livonia, Mich.) single to center drove in Gardenhire for the go-ahead run, and later in the inning Kyes scored on a fielder's choice ground-out by Rohde to add some insurance.

Aaron Saving was nearly flawless in three innings of relief, allowing just one hit and striking out four in the eighth, ninth and 10th innings to earn the victory and move his record to 3-0. The final line for Smiley, the starter, was 4 2/3 innings pitched, three hits, two earned runs and one strikeout.

"Smiley did a great job for us tonight in his first start," said Head Coach Itch Jones of the southpaw. "I can't say enough about the job he did. Now we know that we've got another solid lefthander to go along with Saving, who completely shutdown SIU in the final three innings today."

Offensively, Illinois pounded out 15 hits, three each by Rogowski (3-6) and Robinson (3-5). Rohde drove in two and scored twice during his 2-5 day, while Roof (2-4) and Gardenhire (2-4) each had two hits as well.

Tuesday's game was a homecoming for Coach Jones, who graduated from SIU in 1960 and was the head coach for the Salukis for 21 years before coming to Illinois. After the game Jones said it was great to return to Carbondale, but that his main concern was his team, not his history.

"It was great to come down here and see some old friends," said Jones. "I have a lot of respect for Coach Callahan and this program, but once the first pitch was thrown it was just another game for us. We're happy to come away with a win.