March 18, 2008

Box Score

BRADENTON, Fla. - Junior right-hander Aaron Martin tossed Illinois' first nine-inning complete-game shutout since 2005 on Tuesday, blanking Maryland-Baltimore County, 5-0. Martin scattered eight hits and struck out a career-high five in his first complete game as an Illini, while designated hitter Daniel Webb had three hits and ripped his second home run in as many games to pace the offense.

"The story of the day was how well Aaron Martin pitched," Illinois coach Dan Hartleb said. "He was down in the zone with good life all day. He was ahead in the count and mixed pitches well, and we played very solid defense behind him."

Martin started strong in the first inning, retiring the first Retriever hitter on the game's first pitch and mowing down the first three UMBC hitters he faced. He then needed just five pitches in the second inning, coaxing a first-pitch pop-up from the first hitter, allowing a first-pitch single from the second and getting the third hitter to ground into a double play on a 1-1 offering.

In the third, Martin also needed only five pitches to retire three hitters, retiring the first two Retrievers on one pitch each, then coaxing a groundout on the third pitch to the third hitter. The next inning, Martin struck out the first two hitters he faced before allowing a single and getting a come-backer to the mound to retire the side.

Martin got two quick outs in the fifth inning before giving up a double, but he coaxed a flyout to right fielder Craig Lutes to retire the side. He faced one of only two real threats by the Retrievers in the sixth when he gave up a one-out single then got the second out. But the base runner stole second and moved to third on a wild pitch and Martin walked the next hitter. But he retired the side on a groundout to second baseman Joe Bonadonna to keep the game in a scoreless tie.

The Illini offense got going in the bottom of the sixth when center fielder Kyle Hudson was hit by a pitch and left fielder Casey McMurray doubled to right, moving Hudson to third. One out later, third baseman Dominic Altobelli was intentionally walked to load the bases and Hudson was out at home on first baseman Ryan Hastings' grounder back to the pitcher. But Hastings hustled down the line to break up the double play and it paid off when Webb singled to center to drive in two runs. Catcher Chris Montgomery then recorded his first career hit when he drove in Hastings with a base knock to center, giving the Illini a 3-0 lead.

Martin cruised through the seventh, needing just eight pitches. He induced a groundout for the first out then gave up a single. After coaxing a flyout to Lutes, Martin picked off the runner at first to retire the side. UMBC threatened again in the eighth with consecutive singles to lead off the frame. But Martin induced a ground-ball double play then got the next hitter to pop up to Altobelli to retire the side.

Illinois touched UMBC reliever Ryan Morse for two runs in the eighth when Hastings ripped a one-out triple to center and Webb blasted his second home run in as many games on a 3-1 pitch, giving the Illini a 5-0 lead. Martin got two quick outs in the ninth before allowing a triple, but he struck out the next hitter to put an exclamation point on his outing.

"Offensively, we didn't get a lot of good swings early, but as the game wore on we finally got to their starter and knocked him out of the game," Hartleb said. "Then we added a couple of insurance runs against their reliever. Our players don't let early problems affect how they approach the plate and that's good to see from a team with as much youth as we have. For a young team, they've shown a lot of maturity in later innings."

For the day, Martin scattered eight hits and one walk while not allowing a run and striking out five hitters. He threw 20 first-pitch strikes out of 33 batters faced (60.6 percent) and needed just 95 pitches in all, an efficient average of 10.5 pitches per inning. He allowed just three runners past second base and only one other runner reached scoring position on the day. He faced just six batters more than the minimum.

Offensively, Webb was 3-for-4 with a homer, four RBI and a run, and Hudson went 2-for-3 with a double. Montgomery went 2-for-4 with an RBI and Hastings scored twice.

Up Next: Illinois will face Kansas (11-7 overall, 1-2 in the Big 12) Wednesday at 2 p.m. (CT) at IMG's Academy Park, then will wrap up the trip by facing Northern Iowa on Thursday at 9:30 a.m. (CT) at Manatee Community College and Central Connecticut State Friday at 9 a.m. (CT) at IMG's Academy Park.