April 18, 2007

Box Score

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. - Shawn Roof was hit by a pitch, stole two bases and scored the game's winning run on a wild pitch in the bottom of the eighth as Illinois held off a hungry Robert Morris squad 4-3 at Illinois Field. Catcher Joe Mercurio went 2-for-4 in a spot start behind the plate and Ryan Snowden hit 2-for-4 while playing right field.

"I didn't think we came out with any intensity tonight," Illinois head coach Dan Hartleb said, "but we got aggressive later in the game. We left a number of men on base because we weren't patient at the plate."

Illinois (16-14) got on the board first with a run in the third inning. Third baseman Dominic Altobelli led off with a single and Mercurio drove him in with a hit-and-run double down the right-field line for a 1-0 lead. But Robert Morris (16-19) tied the game with an unearned run in the fourth after a pair of Illini errors.

The Orange and Blue struck back with two runs in the fifth when Mercurio started the rally with a two-out single. Snowden singled to right and leftfielder Joe Bonadonna singled off the first baseman's glove, driving in Snowden and giving Illinois a 3-1 lead. The Eagles got a run off Illini reliever Aaron Ifft in the sixth, cutting the margin to 3-2.

RMC tied the game in the eighth when the first two hitters of the inning singled and doubled, then the third drove a run home with a sacrifice fly. The Eagles then put runners on first and third with one out, but reliever Ben Reeser induced a flyout and Altobelli made a spectacular play to end the inning, charging a slow roller from behind the bag at third and firing a strike to first for the final out of the frame.

Illinois got it back in the bottom half, starting with shortstop Shawn Roof being hit by a 2-0 pitch. He then stole second and third on successive pitches and, two pitches later, scampered home when the delivery got away from the catcher, giving the Illini a 4-3 lead.

"Shawn's aggressive on base and when he gets on base, he has great instincts," Hartleb said. "I'm confident that he will do a good job on the bases."

Reliever Brian Long shut the door in the ninth with a strikeout, a line-out to Altobelli and a groundout that came one hitter after Roof bobbled a softly-hit ball to short. It was Long's second save of the year.

Mercurio led the Illini at the plate, going 2-for-4 with a double, an RBI and a run, and Snowden was 2-for-4 with a run. Roof's HBP was his 13th of the season, putting him 10th on the single-season list and moving him into a third-place tie on the career HBP chart, equaling Brian Roberts' 36. His pair of steals also moves him up to 10th on the single-season record list - one behind his total of 25 last season - and tied with Brian White for eighth on the career steals list with 49 steals.

Reeser got the win with two innings of relief in which he allowed one run on three hits with two strikeouts. Aaron Ifft also tossed a pair of innings of relief, giving up a run on four hits while striking out a pair of Eagle hitters. Kevin Manson started and allowed one unearned run on two hits and a walk with two strikeouts in a four-inning appearance.

Up Next: Illinois travels to Iowa for a weekend series that begins with a 6 p.m. start on Friday. Saturday's doubleheader begins at 2 p.m. and Sunday's series finale starts at 1 p.m. All four games can be heard live in Champaign on WDWS AM-1400 and on the Internet at fightingillini.com.