April 29, 2007

Box Score

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. - Illinois held a 4-0 lead in the third inning but Minnesota scored 15 of the next 16 runs, winning the four-game series with a 15-6 victory in front of 818 fans at Illinois Field. Leftfielder Ryan Snowden led the Illini with a 3-for-5 day, including a homer, a triple, two RBI and two runs. For the series, 4,100 fans entered the gates of Illinois Field, the seventh-largest series attendance in school history.

"It all comes back to what we've done on the mound," Illinois coach Dan Hartleb said. "In the first game, Tanner (Roark) has done a good job in every Big Ten series, and we just haven't done a good job as starters or out of the bullpen in the later games of the series. The entire group needs to step forward from a mental standpoint and we need to throw better pitches."

Illinois touched the scoreboard first with three runs in the second inning. First baseman Mike Rohde led off with a single through the right side and DH Daniel Webb walked. After a double-play groundout, second baseman Ryan Hastings dropped a bloop hit down the right-field line and legged out a triple after the rightfielder knocked the ball to the side fence. Illini rightfielder Nick Stockwell then ripped an 0-1 pitch deep to left for his second career home run, knocking it off the top half of the left-field foul pole for a two-run dinger and a 3-0 Illini lead.

The Orange and Blue got another in the third when leftfielder Ryan Snowden led off with a single and moved to second when Minnesota first baseman Bryan Jost mis-handled a pick-off throw. He moved to third on a groundout and scored on catcher Lars Davis singled past the glove of a drawn-in Jost, making the Illini lead 4-0.

"The offense has done a good job; we've continued to swing at good pitches," Hartleb said. "It's tough when somebody scores 15 runs a game - it's tough to score 16 runs every game. You look at the last three games and our pitching just didn't give us any opportunities to win."

Minnesota scored twice in the fourth and chased Illini starter Scott Shaw with five runs in the fifth, including a three-run homer by Gopher leftfielder Mike Mee that just cleared the fence in right-center and gave Minnesota a 7-4 lead.

Illinois got a run back when Snowden ripped a first-pitch solo homer of his own in the fifth, cutting the margin to 7-5. But the Gophers salted the game away with four runs each in the seventh and ninth innings for a 15-5 lead. The Illini scratched out a run in the ninth when Hastings singled to lead off, moved up on a single by Stockwell and a double-play groundout, then scored on Snowden's triple, making the final score 15-6.

"We have to remember that we went to Minnesota last year and did the exact same thing to them, and they ended up in the championship game of the Big Ten Tournament," Hartleb said. "We still have plenty of time to get into the tournament and do a good job the rest of the season, but we have to step up and start pitching better in a short amount of time."

In addition to Snowden's day at the plate, Stockwell was 2-for-4 with a homer, two RBI and a run, and Hastings went 2-for-4 with a triple, two runs and an RBI. Rohde also had two hits, going 2-for-4 with a run and a steal.

For the weekend, Snowden and Hastings each hit .500 with a three RBI, a homer, a triple and a double. Hastings scored five runs and Snowden scored four. Webb continued his hot streak, hitting .417 (5-for-12) with a double, three RBI and a run.

Up Next: Illinois makes its longest mid-week trip of the year, traveling to Carbondale on Tuesday to face Southern Illinois in a 3 p.m. start. The game was originally schedule to be played at the new ballpark for the Southern Illinois Miners minor league team in Marion, Ill., but the stadium wasn't able to be finished in time for the contest. The Illini then play their third-straight Wednesday game, facing Greenville College at Illinois Field at 6:05 p.m. on May 2.