CHAMPAIGN, Ill. -- Fighting Illini baseball (25-25, 12-12) closed out their regular season with a 15-7 victory over UT Martin (22-33, 14-10) to earn the series win on Saturday at Illinois Field on Senior Day.
It was freshman Jake Swartz that starred early for the Illini, tossing 3.0 scoreless frames to begin the game, allowing just one hit and striking out five to keep the Skyhawks grounded early.
Danny Doligale would then the scoring in the ballgame by launching a two-run shot to right-center to give Illinois the early 2-0 lead.
But UT Martin exploded for six runs in the fourth inning to take a 6-2 lead. Illinois chipped away in the bottom half through a solo home run from Brody Harding and a two-out RBI single from Cam McDonald to make it 6-4. The Skyhawks would grab one of those runs back in the fifth to push their lead to three runs at 7-4.
The Illini offense would grab the lead for good in the contest with a six-spot of their own in the fifth to take a 10-4 lead. Camden Janik led off the inning with a double, but looked like he would get left stranded after two quick outs. Cal Hejza would bring him around to score with a double of his own and Illinois would load the bases after Harding was hit by a pitch and Connor Milton worked a walk. Comia would then clear the bases with his second grand slam of the season to put the Illini in front for good. Drake Westcott capped the scoring in the inning with an RBI-single to score McDonald.
Logan Tabeling, TJ Constertina, Ryan O'Hara and Jack Crowder combined for 4.0 shutout innings down the stretch, allowed four hits and combining for five strikeouts. Tabeling worked 2.0 of those innings, picking up two strikeouts.
Illinois added a run in the sixth when Doligale picked up his third RBI of the game with a double, and two more in the seventh by drawing five walks in the inning, two of which came with the bases loaded, to make it 13-7.
The Illini scored their final two runs of the game in the eighth when Coltin Quagliano blasted a pinch-hit, two-run home run to right for his third home run of the season.
The [7] Fighting Illini will be back in action on Tuesday, May 23, where they will face [2] Indiana in the first round of the Big Ten Tournament. First pitch from Charles Schwab Field in Omaha, Neb., is scheduled for 2:00 p.m. CT.
GAME NOTES
» Branden Comia went 2-for-4 with three runs, a double, home run, four RBI and one walk.
    » Finished the series going 5-for-12 (.417) with six runs, two doubles, one home run, six RBI and two walks.
    » Hit his second grand slam of the season in the fifth inning.
    » Extended his season-high hitting streak to 11 games...is batting .408 (20-for-49) with five doubles, four home runs and 13 RBI during that span.
    » Has seven multi-hit games during that span.
    » Has scored six runs in his last three games.
» Camden Janik went 2-for-3 with two runs, a double, two walks and was hit by a pitch.
    » Finished the series going 7-for-12 (.583) with three runs, a double, a home run, three RBI and three walks.
    » Reached base safely in his first three plate appearances of the game...after going 5-for-5 last night, was a stretch of eight-straight plate appearances reaching base safely.
» Danny Doligale went 2-for-4 with a run, double, home run and three RBI.
    » Has three home runs in his last eight games.
    » Has four RBI in his last two games.
» Drake Westcott went 3-for-5 with an RBI and a walk.
    » Went 6-for-15 (.400) in the series with two runs, a home run and two RBI.
» Logan Tabeling worked 2.0 scoreless innings in the ballgame, an Illinois career-high mark.
    » Has allowed one run in his last 8.0 innings of work, spanning six games...has seven strikeouts during that stretch.
» Every Illinois starter reached base safely in the win.
» The Illinois pitching staff combined to strike out 13 UT Martin hitters.
» Five Fighting Illini had multiple hits in the ballgame.
» The Fighting Illini out-hit the Skyhawks at a 15-10 clip.
» Illinois went 5-for-16 (.313) with runners in scoring position.
» Illinois pitchers faced 45 UT Martin hitters in the game, allowing six ground balls and seven fly balls while striking out 13.
» The Fighting Illini drew 10 walks from UT Martin pitching.
» Branden Comia, TJ Constertina, Danny Doligale, Joe Glassey, Brody Harding, Zak Hartleb, John Lundgren, Cam McDonald, Ryan O'Hara, Alex Vera and Xavier Watson were all honored during Senior Day festivities.
    » Student-managers Diego Acosta and Darahn Magnus were also honored.
» The Illini scored six runs during the kid announced fifth inning, a season high.
This story created through content automation technology from Data Skrive.
