IOWA CITY, Iowa – Doran Turchin, Trent Hammond and Jason Goldstein homered as the Illinois baseball team beat Iowa, 10-4, in the second game of a doubleheader split Saturday at Banks Field. Eight of the Fighting Illini's season-high 10 runs were driven in on home runs.
Illinois (13-15, 4-4 Big Ten) raced to a 5-1 lead after two innings behind two-run home runs in the first and second innings by Goldstein and Hammond, respectively. Turchin blasted a two-out grand slam in the fifth to put the Illini on their way back to the .500 mark in Big Ten play.
Michael Hurwitz added four hits, tying a career best and totaling six on the day, and Jack Yalowitz added three singles. Seven of nine players in the Illini's lineup scored at least one run and six had at least one hit.
Doug Hayes (4-2) earned the win by going 5.2 innings, while allowing four runs on 11 hits. Iowa was never within two runs when Hayes was on the mound.
Charlie Naso (2.1 IP, 1 H) and Matthew James (1.0 IP, 0 H) finished off Iowa with 3.1 innings of scoreless relief. Naso struck out four and James fanned two of the three batters he faced in the ninth.
Iowa (13-15, 4-4 Big Ten) and the Illini tied with 12 hits. Five Hawkeyes had multiple hits including Grant Klenovich, who had three, and Daniel Aaron Moriel, who homered off the scoreboard.
The teams entered with identical records and exited the day both 13-15 overall and 4-4 in the Big Ten. A rubber match is scheduled for tomorrow at 1:05 p.m. CT. Illinois is scheduled to throw freshman Cole Bellair (0-1, 2.48) against Iowa right-hander Nick Gallagher (3-2, 2.89).
