HATTIESBURG, Miss. -- Fighting Illini baseball (3-3) was walked off by No. 18 Southern Miss (5-1) in the 11th inning, falling 14-13 in a back-and-forth thriller.
Illinois opened the scoring in the first on an inside-the-park home run from Cam McDonald, but the Golden Eagles responded with two quick runs their first time up to take the lead.
The Illini would re-take the lead in the third when McDonald collected two more RBI with a two-out double, but once again the hosts would respond with five in their half to take a 7-3 lead. Southern Miss would add a run in the fifth to make it 8-3.
In the sixth, Danny Doligale would draw a walk with the bases loaded and two more would score on an error to cut the deficit to two. The Golden Eagles again added a single run to make it 9-6 heading into the seventh.
With two outs in the seventh, Jacob Schroeder and Coltin Quagliano each singled, setting the table for the first of Cal Hejza's two home runs. Hejza jumped all over a 2-0 pitch, sending it over the left field wall to tie the game. Southern Miss again would retake the lead in the seventh, 10-9, and both teams were held scoreless in the eighth.
Ryan Moerman and Schroeder kicked off the ninth with back-to-back walks and with one out and down 0-2 in the count, Hejza again launched a three-run home run to give the Illini the 12-10 lead. The Oswego, Ill., native came into the game with two career home runs, doubling his total in his first-career multi-home run effort. Southern Miss scored twice in the ninth, but freshman Brady Banker, who entered the game with the bases loaded and one out, left them loaded to force extra innings.
In the 10th, Hejza picked up his seventh RBI of the ballgame with a sacrifice fly to score Camden Janik, who led off the inning with a double, extending his hitting streak to six games.
The Golden Eagles scored once to force an 11th inning and would go on to win, 14-13, after keeping the Illini off the board in the top half of the frame.
GAME NOTES
» Cal Hejza went 2-for-3 with four runs scored, two home runs, seven RBI and two walks.
» Entered today's game with just two career home runs.
» Set career-high marks in runs scored and RBI.
» First Illini with at least seven RBI in a game since Jackson Raper also had seven on May 2, 2021, vs. Michigan.
» Cam McDonald went 4-for-7 with a double, home run and three RBI.
» First four-hit game by an Illini this season.
» His inside-the-park home run was the first by an Illini since Trent Hammond did so on April 18, 2017, vs. Western Michigan.
» Jacob Schroeder went 1-for-2 with two runs scored and three walks.
» Branden Comia walked in the fifth inning, extending his on-base streak to 46 games.
» Every Fighting Illini starter reached base safely in the loss.
» Nine total Illini picked up hits in the contest.
» Illinois scored three runs in an inning three times.
» Scored in six of 11 innings.
» The Fighting Illini took Southern Miss pitchers deep three times on Saturday.
» Illinois has hat six home runs and allowed just one during this series.
» The 26 runs scored over a two-game span are the most scored on Southern Miss by a single opponent since they also allowed 26 runs from May 3-4, 2019, to Florida Atlantic.
» Spots 7-9 in the Illini batting order went a combined 5-for-8 with nine runs, two home runs, seven RBI and six walks.
» Illinois pitchers faced 66 Southern Miss hitters in the game, allowing 12 ground balls and 10 fly balls while striking out 10.
» The Fighting Illini drew 11 walks from Southern Miss pitching.
» Illinois is 1-3 when facing ranked opponents this season.
» The Illini are now 1-1 in the all-time series against Southern Miss.
» Illinois used 24 players in today's game, including 10 pitchers.
This story created through content automation technology from Data Skrive.
