SAUGET, Ill. – Andrew Mamlic tied his career high with 7.0 innings pitched Tuesday to help the Illinois baseball team win 6-4 over Missouri at GCS Ballpark. Jack Yalowitz and Pat McInerney homered in the fourth inning of the game aired on SEC Network.
Illinois (22-19) evened the all-time series against Mizzou, 13-13-1, with its third win over the Tigers in the last four meetings.
Mamlic struck out a career-best seven batters while allowing one earned run on four hits. The right-hander retired eight of the last 10 batters he faced, after Illinois grabbed a 4-2 lead with four runs on five hits in the bottom of the fourth. Mamlic pounded the zone with 76 strikes in 109 pitches.
Yalowitz hit an opposite field solo homer, the first of his career, to lead off the fourth and McInerney followed four batters later with a two-run blast that easily cleared the left field wall. Anthony Drago singled after McInerney's fourth homer of the year, then advanced to second on a wild pitch, and scored on Dan Rowbottom's single to right field.
Missouri (24-22) got within one run in the eighth when a pop up to left field was lost in the lights and dropped. The miscue gave Zach Levy a two-RBI triple, but Charlie Naso forced a ground out on the next batter to end the inning.
Nick Blackburn threw eight pitches in a 1-2-3 ninth to pick up the save. Blackburn moved into a tie for third on Illinois' single-season saves list with his 10th of the year.
McInerney, Yalowitz, Rowbottom and Jason Goldstein all had two hits. Yalowitz smacked a RBI double to the right field corner in the ninth to give the Illini an insurance run.
Illinois has a quick turnaround when Southern Illinois visits Champaign tomorrow for a 3:30 p.m. CT matchup. It will be Star Wars Day at Illinois Field.
