April 22, 2009

Box Score

ST. LOUIS - The Fighting Illini scored five runs in the final two innings but fell just short in an 11-10 loss at Saint Louis on Wednesday. Second baseman Josh Parr (Chillicothe, Ill.) went 2-for-4 with three RBIs, three runs and a steal, and center fielder Joe Bonadonna (Buffalo Grove, Ill.), shortstop Brandon Wikoff (Peoria, Ill.), left fielder Casey McMurray (Willow Springs, Ill.) and third baseman Dominic Altobelli (Oak Forest, Ill.) each collected two hits.

"We had a couple of guys on the mound who had trouble finding the strike zone tonight," Illinois head coach Dan Hartleb said. "But we still had multiple chances to get the big hit that would get us over the hump and we never did. We just have to regroup heading into the weekend and take care of business in conference games."

The Billikens jumped on top early with four runs in the bottom of the first on three hits, a walk, a hit batter and a sacrifice fly for a quick 4-0 lead.

But Illinois bounced back with a pair of runs in the second. Altobelli drew a leadoff walk and catcher Aaron Johnson (Sussex Corner, New Brunswick) singled up the middle. Johnson was put out on first baseman Matt Dittman's (Libertyville, Ill.) grounder and right fielder Pete Cappetta (Lisle, Ill.) walked to load the bases. One out later, Parr laced a single inside the third-base bag to bring home Altobelli and Dittman, cutting the deficit to 4-2.

The Illini tied it up in the fourth with a two-out rally. DH Willie Argo (Davenport, Iowa) smoked a double to the wall in left-center and scored on Parr's base hit to left. Parr stole second and came in on Bonadonna's single to left, tying the game at 4.

SLU regained the lead in the bottom half of the fourth, though, scoring two runs on two hits, two hit batters and a walk for a 6-4 advantage. The Bills tacked on three more runs in the fifth on two hits, a sacrifice bunt, a groundout and an error to go up 9-4.

Illinois got a run back in the sixth when Cappetta was hit by a pitch to start the frame and stole second. Two outs later, Bonadonna bunted for a hit, moving Cappetta to third, and McMurray's single to right brought him home to make the score 9-5.

But SLU added two runs in the seventh on a hit, an error, two walks and a fielder's choice to extend its lead to 11-5. Illinois got two run back in the eighth when Parr was hit by a pitch to start the inning and, two outs later, Wikoff doubled to the gap in right-center to bring him in. After a pitching change during Altobelli's at bat, the senior third baseman lined the third pitch he saw from the new hurler to right-center, bringing home Wikoff to make the score 11-7.

The Illini mounted a rally in the ninth when pinch hitter Craig Lutes (Normal, Ill.) walked with one out and pinch hitter Nick Stockwell (Harvey, Ill.) reached on an error. Stockwell was put out on Parr's ground ball and pinch hitter Daniel Parker (Lawrence, Kan.) doubled down the left-field line to score Lutes. McMurray lined a single to center, bringing home Parr and Parker to make the score 11-10. But Wikoff flied out to right to end the game and the Billikens took the victory.

Bonadonna finished the night 2-for-4 with an RBI and a steal, and Altobelli was 2-for-4 with an RBI and a run. Wikoff was 2-for-6 with a double, an RBI and a run, and McMurray was 2-for-6 with three RBIs. Freshman Will Strack (Sycamore, Ill.) tossed two scoreless innings of relief as the first man out of the bullpen, and fellow rookie Corey Kimes (Ottawa, Ill.) tossed a scoreless sixth inning.

Up Next: Illinois heads east to Penn State for a three-game series with the Nittany Lions. The weekend set begins at 5:35 p.m. (CT) on Friday before the teams play a 3:35 p.m. game on Saturday. Sunday's game will begin at 10:05 a.m.