April 1, 2011

Box Score

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - After Penn State scored six runs in the first inning in the Big Ten opener at Medlar Field at Lubrano Park on Friday, Illinois tied the game in the seventh and took the lead in the ninth on a two-out RBI single by Josh Parr before holding on for a 7-6 win. It is Illinois' fifth-straight win, fourth triumph in its last at bat this season and third last-inning victory in the last four games, as the Orange and Blue improve to 9-10 overall and PSU falls to 15-8.

"I was interested to see how our guys reacted to giving up six runs in the first," Illinois head coach Dan Hartleb said. "When they came into the dugout, they were talking about having an opportunity to get a comeback win and they were able to come through. We had a lot of big hits late in the game and the bullpen was good. And Kevin Johnson really battled after that first inning."

It is Illinois' sixth comeback victory in 2011 and the Illini are now 8-0 when out-hitting their opponent, collecting 12 hits to Penn State's seven. Illinois collected nine of its hits in the final four innings, while PSU's only hit after the first inning was an infield single in the sixth. The Orange and Blue have recorded double-digit hits in five of the last six games and have scored seven or more runs in the last six games.

Penn State burst out of the gates with a six-run first inning, with a leadoff homer, followed by two doubles sandwiched around an RBI base hit. After a walk, PSU catcher Bobby Jacobs laced a frozen rope off Johnson's right thigh, but the Illini starter was able to continue after walking it off. He gave up a base hit and a sacrifice bunt before wriggling out of the inning with a pair of groundouts.

The Illini started to chip away with a run in the second after a leadoff single by Davis. He stole second and, two outs later, came home on a base hit through the left side of the infield by right fielder Davis Hendrickson, bringing the Orange and Blue within 6-1.

Johnson settled down after the big first inning, retiring the Nittany Lions in order in the second and only allowing a two-out walk in the third. Left fielder Casey McMurray laced a leadoff triple past center fielder Sean Deegan in the fourth and came home on an RBI groundout by Davis, cutting PSU's lead to 6-2.

The Illini kept battling back in the fifth as second baseman Thomas Lindauer laced a leadoff single through the left side and moved to third on a bad pickoff attempt by PSU starter Steven Hill. DH Justin Parr then lifted a sacrifice fly to left field to make the score 6-3.

Illinois got another run in the sixth after McMurray ripped a leadoff single and Davis knocked a base hit up the middle. McMurray was picked off second but first baseman Matt Dittman poked a base hit to left that left fielder Blake Lynd mishandled, allowing Davis to score from first and Dittman to end up on second. The next two hitters grounded out to end the inning, but the Orange and Blue pulled within 6-4.

Johnson gave up a two-out single in the bottom of the sixth but struck out center fielder Sean Deegan to end the frame. Justin Parr ripped a one-out double to right-center in the seventh and center fielder Willie Argo met reliever Greg Welsh by knocking a first-pitch base hit back through the box to drive in Parr. Justin Parr also laced a single up the middle, pushing Argo to third, and McMurray welcomed reliever Ryan Ignas with a base hit to left that plated Argo and tied the game, 6-6. Davis grounded to the third baseman, who retired McMurray at second on a controversial call but the relay to first was late. Parr overran third, though, and was caught in a rundown to finish the 5-4-3-5 double play that ended the inning.

Johnson allowed a leadoff walk in the bottom of the seventh but erased the runner with a tailor-made 6-4-3 double play. But after another walk, Hartleb brought in reliever Will Strack. He walked the first hitter he faced but struck out Jacobs to escape the inning.

After the Illini went down in order in the eighth, Strack walked the first hitter in the bottom of the eighth before striking out second baseman Elliot Searer. The next hitter sacrificed the runner to second and he moved to third on a wild pitch. But Strack fanned Deegan on a 2-2 pitch to keep the Lions scoreless.

After Lindauer flied out and Justin Parr popped out to start the ninth, Argo blasted a triple off the wall in left-center. Josh Parr then sent the 1-1 offering from Ignas into center field to plate Argo with the go-ahead run and a 7-6 Illini lead.

Closer Wes Braun come on in the bottom half and induced a come-backer to the mound from the first hitter. He got PSU third baseman Jordan Steranka to ground out to Lindauer before walking the next hitter. But he struck out DH Mario Eramo looking to end the game and extend Illinois' winning streak to five games.

McMurray led the offense, going 3-for-4 with a triple, an RBI and a run, and Davis was 2-for-4 with an RBI and two runs. Argo went 2-for-5 with a triple, an RBI and two runs.

Strack pitched a scoreless 1 1/3 innings of relief, striking out three and walking two, and Braun allowed a walk and struck out one in his scoreless ninth inning to pick up his third save. After allowing the first seven hitters of the game to reach base, Johnson retired eight consecutive hitters and didn't give up another hit until the sixth inning.

The Illini and Lions continue the series Saturday at 1:05 p.m. CT. Senior right-hander John Anderson will start on the hill for Illinois, while PSU will send sophomore right-hander John Walter to the mound.