May 24, 2007

Box Score

ANN ARBOR, Mich. - No. 2 seed Minnesota scored five in the first inning and never looked back, sending fifth-seeded Illinois into a loser's bracket game Friday at 2:35 p.m. (CT) against top-seeded Michigan or No. 3 Penn State, who face off in an elimination contest just prior to playing the Illini. Third baseman Brandon Wikoff led the Illini, going 2-for-4 with an RBI, and first baseman Mike Rohde also had two hits.

"They got an early lead and that allowed their pitcher to settle in and really take control of the game," Illinois coach Dan Hartleb said. "We have to do a better job on the mound early in games."

Minnesota vaulted out to an early lead with five runs in the first inning off Illini starter Mike Stankiewicz, chasing the redshirt-sophomore after just one inning of work. The Gophers touched reliever Brian Long for two runs in the second, one in the fourth and two unearned runs in the fifth for a 10-0 Minnesota lead through six innings.

But Illinois put together a mini-rally in the seventh, scoring three runs on three hits and a Gopher error. DH Daniel Webb led off with a single and moved to second on shortstop Shawn Roof's base hit. Second baseman Ryan Hastings walked before Webb and Roof scored on a fielding error by the shortstop on a ball hit by rightfielder Nick Stockwell. After a pair of strikeouts, third baseman Brandon Wikoff shot a single to right, plating Hastings and cutting the deficit to 10-3.

The Illini never threatened after that, despite a lead-off single from Rohde in the eighth. Minnesota reliever Bill Johnson set down Illinois in order in the ninth to end the game.

The Orange and Blue used four pitchers, with Ben Reeser and Kevin Manson also seeing time out of the bullpen. Reeser worked two shutout innings, striking out four, and Manson pitched a scoreless ninth.

"We tried not to use anybody for an extended outing," Hartleb said. "We didn't want to leave anybody out there too long where they couldn't come back if we needed them later in the tournament."

Up Next: Illinois has to wait and see who will be its opponent, as the Illini draw the winner of the match-up between top-seeded Michigan and No. 3 Penn State in an elimination game Friday at 11:05 a.m. (CT). That game's survivor will draw the Illini at 2:35 p.m. in another elimination contest.