May 14, 2006

Box Score

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. - After pushing the series back two days, Illinois and Indiana finally began their Big Ten set as the Hoosiers pulled out a 4-3 nail-biter in the first game and the Illini recovered with a 9-6 comeback win in the nightcap. Illinois remains in fourth place in the league standings at 27-22 on the season, 13-13 in the Big Ten, while Indiana goes to 20-29, 9-17.

"We did a good job taking advantage of their mistakes in the second game," Illinois coach Dan Hartleb said. "We rebounded well, as we have most of the season after a loss."

In the second game, Illinois scored six unearned runs off four Indiana errors to come from behind as the Hoosiers scored twice in the first inning and added another in the third off Illini starter Ben Reeser. But Illinois pushed two across in the fourth inning when Shawn Roof scored on a two-base throwing error by the right fielder off a ball hit by Mike Rohde. With Rohde at second, Lars Davis smacked a double over the head of centerfielder Reggie Watson to bring the Illini within 3-2.

But Indiana added a pair in the bottom half of the inning before Illinois broke through with a four-run fifth inning. With one out, Kyle Hudson reached on a fielding error by the third baseman on a sharply hit ball. Ryan Snowden walked and Roof drove in Hudson with a single to right field. Dave Schultz reached on a fielder's choice and Roof was safe at second when the throw from the first baseman was off-line, leaving the bases loaded. One out later, Rohde lifted a ball deep to right field and rightfielder Andrew Means went back to the wall, only to have the ball bounce off his glove, scoring all three runs to give Illinois a 6-4 lead.

The Hoosiers cut the margin to 6-5, but Illinois tacked on three more runs in the sixth on two hits and two walks. With runners on first and second, Snowden drove in Ryan Hastings and advanced Hudson to third with a double to left-center. Hudson was put out at home on a fielder's choice off a ball hit by Roof, but Roof stole second and Schultz drove in Snowden and Roof with a base hit to right field, pushing Illinois' margin to 9-6. Brian Long finished the game for Illinois, throwing three near-perfect innings of relief to get the win as he allowed just one hit in his relief stint.

"We hit the ball well in crucial situations and Schultz gave us a cushion with his big hit," Hartleb said. "We did a nice job of finding a way to win because we didn't make consistent contact all day."

In the opener, Indiana put up a run in the fourth, but Illinois took a 2-1 lead when Snowden reached on a one-out single and moved to second on Roof's groundout. Schultz walked and Kliment doubled to right-center, driving in both runs. But the Hoosiers scored a run in each of the sixth and seventh innings to go up 3-2. The Illini tied the game in the ninth when, with runners at the corners, Snowden dropped a single just over the third baseman's head to score Davis and tie the game 3-3.

The bottom of the ninth was when the game took an odd turn as Indiana third baseman Tyler Cox reached after reliever Joel Barickman dropped a soft pop-up to the left of the mound. Keith Haas sacrificed him over and Watson laced the apparent game-winning single to right field. When he went to field the ball, right fielder Trevor Huisinga slipped on the wet turf. But Cox also slipped as he went from the infield dirt to the grass in front of third base, leaving runners at first and third. Illini closer Jake Toohey entered the game and walked the bases loaded before getting the second out with a strikeout. But DH Zach Boswell worked the count to 3-1 before drawing a walk that drove in the game-winning run in a 4-3 Indiana victory.