March 19, 2011

Box Score

CARBONDALE, Ill. - Illinois pounded out 14 hits and got a quality start from junior left-hander Corey Kimes to take down Saint Louis, 7-4, at Abe Martin Field on Saturday. Kimes only allowed two earned runs while striking out five in seven innings, and left fielder Casey McMurray went 3-for-5 with two RBIs to lead the offense. Illinois improves to 5-10 on the season.

"Corey Kimes did a great job today," Illinois head coach Dan Hartleb said. "He pitched very well and was in command the whole time. To me, the most impressive thing was that when it was tight late, our pitchers got two 1-2-3 innings. Then when they got a hit with two outs in the ninth, Wes (Braun) turned around and got the final out.

"Offensively, I was really impressed. We hit a lot of balls on a line and went the opposite way a number of times. We moved runners and came up with some big two-out hits. We just did some things very well and showed a lot of composure in tight situations."

The Illini got on the board first with a pair of runs in the third inning. Second baseman Thomas Lindauer singled to right and moved to second on a groundout. After another out, left fielder Casey McMurray drove him in with a base hit through the left side and moved to second on the throw home. Catcher Adam Davis was hit by a pitch and first baseman Matt Dittman walked to load the bases. Third baseman Brandon Hohl drew a walk to push across a run and gave the Illini a 2-0 lead.

After a scoreless fourth inning, the Billikens got a run in the fifth on a walk, a wild pitch and an RBI double. But Illinois got the run back in the bottom half when Davis led off with a base hit to right and stole second. Dittman drove him in with a double and Hohl was hit by a pitch. Right fielder Davis Hendrickson beat out a bunt single to load the bases, but Hohl and Dittman were put out on a 5-2 double play and Hendrickson was put out at third on a grounder by Lindauer to end the inning with the Illini up 3-1.

Saint Louis took advantage of a walk, a double, a hit batter and a bases-clearing error to grab a 4-3 lead in the sixth inning, but the Orange and Blue fought back with a three-run frame in the bottom half. Argo drew a leadoff walk and Parr singled through the left side. After a pitching change, both runners moved up on a balk and Argo scored on a groundout by McMurray. Davis was hit by a pitch, leading to a successful double-steal as Parr swiped home. After an out, Hohl drove home Davis with a single up the middle to post the Illini to a 6-4 lead.

Bill Barrett relieved Kimes in the eighth after Kimes worked seven solid innings, allowing only two earned runs on five hits and three walks while striking out a career-high five hitters. Barrett retired the Bills in order on only eight pitches and the Illini added a run in the bottom half. McMurray knocked a one-out single and Davis singled through the right side. Dittman walked to load them up and Hendrickson drove in McMurray with a sacrifice fly to increase Illinois' lead to 7-4.

Wes Braun came in to pitch the ninth and gave up a two-out single before recording the save with a scoreless inning of work.

McMurray led the Illini offense, going 3-for-5 with two RBIs and two runs. Dittman was 2-for-3 with a double and an RBI, and Hohl drove in three runs with a 1-for-2 day. Davis was 2-for-3 with two runs and two stolen bases, and Lindauer went 2-for-4 with a run. Parr went 2-for-5 with a run and a steal, and Cappetta went 1-for-4 with two steals.

The Illini finish their weekend in Carbondale by facing the host Southern Illinois Salukis on Sunday at 2:30 p.m. Illinois will send right-hander Will Strack to the hill while SIU will give the ball to lefty Brad Drust.