Feb. 26, 2006

Box Score

DeLand, Fla. - Illinois' bats awoke to the tune of 13 runs on 20 hits, but the Illini gave up seven walks and hit six batters as Western Carolina scored three in the bottom of the ninth inning for a 14-13 comeback victory. Lars Davis finished his first weekend as an Illini with a 4-for-5 effort and four RBI, and Chase Kliment went 2-for-4 with two runs, two RBI and two walks.

"Offensively, we did a good job of continuing to put pressure on them the entire game," Illinois coach Dan Hartleb said. "Hopefully those guys are starting to settle into their roles."

Illinois took its first lead of 2006 when sophomore catcher Lars Davis drove in a pair with his single up the middle in the first inning. With one out, Ryan Hastings hit a looping fly ball that the leftfielder dropped near the foul line and Mike Rohde reached on a fielding error by the shortstop. One out later, Chase Kliment walked on four straight pitches to set up Davis' two-RBI base hit that gave the Illini a 2-0 lead.

But the Catamounts fought back with a run in the first on back-to-back doubles, then Illinois starter Scott Shaw gave up a solo home run in the second that tied the game 2-2.

The Illini regained the lead in the third, scoring a pair on four hits. With one out, Rohde singled up the middle and stole second. One out later, Chase Kliment drove him in with a base hit to left field and Davis moved Kliment to second with a base hit through the right side. Shawn Roof then drove in Kliment with a single to center field, but Davis was thrown out at third base on a close play to end the inning with Illinois leading 4-2.

Illinois extended its lead to 6-2 in the fourth inning when Dave Schultz delivered a two-out bases-loaded single that drove in Kyle Hudson and Ryan Snowden. WCU responded with a run in the fourth, but the Illini put four more on the board in the top of the sixth. Illinois strung together five hits and a walk -including a two-RBI double by Shawn Roof and an RBI single by Davis, his fourth hit of the day - to take a 10-3 lead. Once again, the Catamounts fought back, scoring three in the sixth to cut the margin to 10-6.

But the Illini added to their lead in the seventh when Schultz drove in two more with a single through the right side, plating Trevor Huisinga and Hastings and giving Illinois a 12-6 lead. The Catamounts would not go away, scoring four in the seventh and another in the eighth to cut the deficit to 12-11. Illinois added a run in the top of the ninth, but WCU fought back once again in its last at-bat.

The Cats opened the inning with a walk, then a runner reached on an error by Ryan Hastings that looked like a potential double play. A base hit drove in one and left runners at the corners with no outs and a wild pitch moved the runner to second base. Another single drove in one and WCU won 14-13 when a second run scored after leftfielder Ryan Snowden mishandled the base hit through the left side.

"Defensively, we have a lot of guys playing new positions, and they're going to have to settle in as we go," Hartleb said. "As far as the pitching goes, we have to limit the number of guys we put on base. It's disappointing that we gave so many free passes with the big lead we had."