March 24, 2006

Box Score

BRADENTON, Fla. - Dave Schultz had his second four-hit game of Spring Trip, this time with a pair of home runs and a double, as Illinois out-slugged Cornell 19-12 on the Illini's final day. Illinois wrapped up the trip 6-0, the first perfect Spring Trip since 2002, as the Illini smashed three homers and nine doubles against the Big Red.

"Our hitters settled in and swung at better pitches the second time through the lineup," Illinoi coach Dan Hartleb said. "And our hitters always felt like they were going to get the job done, even when they were down five."

After spotting the Big Red a 2-0 lead on a run in each of the second and third innings, Illinois grabbed the lead with a three-run third inning. Rightfielder Trevor Huisinga and designated hitter Chase Kliment both doubled in the inning, and centerfielder Kyle Hudson, Huisinga and first baseman Dave Schultz each scored to give Illinois a 3-2 advantage.

But Cornell fought back with four runs in the fifth inning, chasing Illini starter Scott Shaw after four hits, a walk and a hit batter, to take a 6-3 lead. Illinois got two runs back when Schultz got all of an 0-1 fastball, knocking a two-run homer to right-center and cutting the Big Red lead to 6-5. Cornell punched back, scoring four more in the sixth inning, but the Illini used an RBI single by Hudson, a two-run home run by Huisinga and an RBI double by Schultz to cut the margin to 10-9 after six innings.

Reliever Aaron Saving held the Big Red scoreless in the seventh, and that's when Illinois' offense exploded. The Illini tagged Cornell pitching for a season-high eight runs in the frame, including Schultz's second homer of the game and doubles by Huisinga and third baseman Mike Rohde, and took a 17-10 lead. Illinois added a pair in the ninth on a two-run double by Rohde, and the Big Red added two more in the bottom of the ninth to reach the final score of 19-12.

Schultz went 4-for-6 with two homers, a double and five RBI, tying his career highs for homers and RBI. Snowden was 4-for-4 with four runs, two RBI and two walks, and Huisinga hit 3-for-4 with a home run, two doubles, four RBI and four runs. Twelve of Illinois' 21 hits went for extra bases and the Illini stole four bases.

"Snowden was on base six times and that's exactly what you need from a lead-off hitter," Hartleb said. "Schultz was also outstanding at the plate."

For the trip, Ryan Hastings led the Illini with a .526 average, .789 slugging percentage, .643 on-base percentage and seven walks. Schultz hit .387 with two homers and three doubles for a .677 slugging percentage, as well as a team-high 12 hits and 12 RBI. As a team, Illinois hit .379 with 26 extra-base hits, more than doubling its power production, and stealing 13-of-16 bases. The Illini outscored their opponents 61-36 on the trip and out-hit opponents by 24.

"For the trip, we had some pretty impressive offensive numbers," Hartleb said. "And our pitchers made some improvements, too. A big thing is that every time our hitters had a big inning, our pitchers would come back and shut down the other team to let the offense add to the lead."

Up Next: Illinois returns home before heading to Terre Haute, Ind., for a Tuesday game against Indiana State at 6:30 p.m. The Illini begin the home season next Friday, March 31, against Purdue at 6:05 p.m.