PISCATAWAY, N.J. -- Fighting Illini baseball (23-23, 12-11) even up their series at Rutgers (31-19, 12-8) with a 9-7 victory at Bainton Field on Saturday night.
The Scarlet Knights would take an early 1-0 after the first, but the Illini put up a five spot in the top of the second and would not relinquish the lead. Ryan Moerman began the inning with a single, followed by back-to-back walks from Camden Janik and Coltin Quagliano to load the bases. Danny Doligale and Cal Hejza each earned an RBI after being hit by a pitch and Brody Harding drew a walk to make it 3-1. Branden Comia drove in a run with a sacrifice fly and Cam McDonald capped the frame with an RBI-single.
Rutgers would grab one of those runs back in the home half of the second, but Illinois would hit back with four more runs in the third. Janik and Quagliano again earned free passes, with the former scoring on a two-out single from Harding. Comia also delivered with two outs, scoring Quagliano with a single for his second RBI of the game. After McDonald extended the inning by reaching on an error, the Illini pulled off a double steal, with Comia swiping home to make it 9-2.
Illinois starter Jack Wenninger, working with a seven-run lead, set down Rutgers in order in the third and fourth. The hosts would then score three times in the fifth to make it 9-5, but Wenninger would respond with 1-2-3 innings in the sixth and seventh to keep the Illini lead at four.
The Scarlet Knights would cut the lead to two with two more runs in the eighth and bring the winning run to the plate in the ninth, but Korey Bunselmeyer struck them out looking to end the ballgame, giving Illinois an important 9-7 win.
The Fighting Illini will be back in action tomorrow for their Big Ten regular season finale with first pitch from ShoreTown Ballpark scheduled for 11:00 a.m. CT.
GAME NOTES
» Brody Harding went 2-for-3 with a run, double, two RBI and a walk.
» Branden Comia went 2-for-4 with a run, double, two RBI and two stolen bases.
    » Became the first Illini to steal home since Bren Spillane on May 26, 2018.
    » Extended his hitting streak to seven games...is batting .412 (14-for-34) with three doubles, three home runs and seven RBI during that span.
    » Has five multi-hit games in his last seven.
    » Is one hit away from being tied for 10th in hits in program history.
» Ryan Moerman went 2-for-5 with a run and a double.
» Jack Wenninger improved to 6-3 on the season.
    » 7.0 IP, 8 H, 6 R/ER, 1 BB, 3 SO
    » Fourth outing of at least 7.0 innings this season...second such outing in his last three.
» Korey Bunselmeyer worked 2.0 scoreless frames to earn his second save of the season.
    » Has not allowed a run in his last 4.0 innings of work, spanning three games.
» Seven of nine Illini starters recorded a hit in the ballgame...seven of nine also scored a run.
» Illinois did hit a home run for the first time in eight games.
    » Second time this season scoring nine runs without hitting a home run...third time scoring at least eight runs without a home run.
» The Illini have recorded double-digit hits in five-straight games, a new season-high mark.
» Illinois pitchers faced 40 Rutgers hitters in the game, allowing 11 ground balls and 10 fly balls while striking out five.
» The Fighting Illini drew five walks from Rutgers pitching.
This story created through content automation technology from Data Skrive.
