CHAMPAIGN, Ill. -- The Illinois baseball team scored nine runs in the first inning Friday but still had to come from behind for a 13-12 win over Rutgers in the first game of a three-game series. Rutgers scored 10 runs in the fourth and held an 11-9 lead after five innings.
Illinois (21-8, 7-3 Big Ten) broke a 12-12 tie in the eighth with Jeff Korte's two-out RBI single to right field to finally take the lead for good. Korte went 3-for-5 with a homer and four RBIs to lead the Illini.
Illinois scored seven runs in the game's first 21 pitches and added two more before the first inning was over. Zack Taylor led off with a home run, the first of 10 hits in the inning. Bren Spillane added a three-RBI triple as part of a 2-for-2 day with five total bases.Â
Rutgers (18-12, 4-3 Big Ten) stormed back with 10 runs on 10 hits in the fourth inning, capped by Jawuan Harris' three-RBI go-ahead double that was within feet of being a grand slam.Â
A combined 18 players scored a run and 16 had hits in Illinois' highest combined score for a series opener since beating Purdue 17-13 in 2013. Michael Massey, Jack Yalowitz and Korte all had three hits for Illinois. Harris led Rutgers with three hits and four RBIs.Â
Only two of five pitchers for the Illini had clean outings, Ryan Thompson and Joey Gerber. Thompson earned his seventh win by throwing the eighth and Gerber pitched a scoreless ninth for his 10th save.Â
Ryan Schmitt calmed Rutgers' bats in the fifth, sixth and seventh, allowing only one run on one hit in three innings.
The two teams are scheduled to continue the series Saturday at 3 p.m. CT. Stay tuned to @IlliniBaseball on Twitter, as rain is in the forecast for Champaign.
Notes
• Illinois is 20-5 in its last 25 games.
• Illinois is 16-3 when scoring first.
• Illinois is 17-2 when scoring five or more runs.
• Illinois is 21-4 when scoring three or more runs.
• The 25 runs were the highest combined score in an Illinois series opener since beating Purdue 17-12 in 2013. Â
• Ben Troike extended his career-long reached base streak to 34 games.
• Bren Spillane increased his national-leading slugging percentage to 1.038.
• Joey Gerber's 10 saves are tied for the fourth-most in an Illinois single season.
• Joey Gerber's 18 career saves are the fourth-most in Illinois history.
