Photos

ARUBA — Aruba beat the Illinois baseball team Thursday at Winston Stadium 3-1. The Illini outhit Aruba 7-5 but the islanders managed to even the series 1-1 ahead of Friday's three-game series rubber match. 

Nathan Lavender turned in a great start for the Illini, striking out six in three scoreless frames. He kept the game 0-0 before Aruba got two runs in the fourth and another in the fifth to pull ahead 3-0. 

Illinois' lone run came in the sixth on Michael Massey's triple down the right field line. Cam McDonald, who had walked, scored but the Illini stranded Massey at third. 

Friday's game is schedule for 5:45 p.m. CT. It is the last game on the Illini's foreign trip to Curaçao and Aruba. 

Troike 1-4, BB
McDonald 1-3, BB
Massey 2-4, 3B, RBI, K
Van Scoy 0-4, 2 K
Sarver 0-4
Comia 1-4, SB
Yalowitz 0-1, K
Haff 0-3, BB, K, SB
Craan 1-2, K, SB
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Dyke 1-3
Korte 0-1

Lavender 3.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 6 K
Larson 0.1 IP, 1 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 1 HBP, 3 BB, 0 K
Jones 2.2 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 1 K
Schmitt 1.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 HBP, 1 BB, 3 K
Sefcik 1.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K

Notes 
• Attendance: 56
• Temperature: 80?
• The Aruba team is made up of select national-team level players.
• Illinois plans to host a baseball clinic Friday for kids in Aruba at Winston Stadium before a 5:45 p.m. CT game, the final game of the trip. 
• Illinois will take over the @ncaasports Instagram story tomorrow.