CHAMPAIGN, Ill. -- Illinois baseball (12-12) opened its series against Penn State (13-10) with a 14-10 victory tonight at Illinois Field.
Ryan Moerman powered the Illini, going 3-for-5 with two runs, a double, home run and five RBI. Four different batters recorded multi-hit games for the Orange and Blue and six batters recorded RBI in the contest.
Will Lavin picked up the win for Illinois out of the bullpen, striking out both batters he faced in the seventh.
HOW IT HAPPENED
For the third-straight game, the Illini scored their first time up to bat. Vytas Valincius picked up a two-out RBI on a single to give Illinois the early 1-0 lead.
The Illini tacked on a run in the fourth when Coltin Quagliano singled home Jacob Schroeder, but Penn State would score twice in the fifth to tie the game.
Illinois responded immediately, pushing four runs across in the bottom half of the fifth. Camden Janik doubled home Cal Hejza, Valincius collected his second RBI of the night on a sac fly and Moerman followed with a two-run blast to make it 6-2.
The Nittany Lions would not go away quietly, scoring three runs in both the sixth and seventh to take an 8-6 lead.
In the home half of the seventh, the Illini loaded with bases with one out and Quagliano and Cameron Chee-Aloy would draw consecutive walks to tie the game at 8-8. Hejza singled home Harding to give Illinois the lead for the third time in the ballgame. Drake Westcott and Valincius also earned free passes with the bases loaded, pushing the Illini lead to 11-8. Moerman delivered the decisive blow in game by clearing the bases on a three-run double to make it 14-8.
Penn State put two runs on the scoreboard before the game was over, but the Fighting Illini still went on to win 14-10.
GAME NOTES
» Ryan Moerman went 3-for-5 with two runs scored, a double, home run and five RBI.
» Has six hits, six runs, a double, four home runs and 13 RBI in his last three games.
» Leads the team with eight home runs, which is tied for the most among Big Ten hitters.
» Has homered in three-consecutive games, a career-high streak.
» Has 21 RBI on the season, second-most on the team.
» Season-high three hits.
» Camden Janik went 3-for-4 with three runs, a double, RBI and a walk.
» Has five games this season with at least three hits.
» Has eight hits in his last three games.
» Vytas Valincius went 2-for-3 with a run, three RBI and a walk.
» Has hit safely in eight of his last 10 games.
» Three RBI matches a season high (three times).
» Jacob Schroeder went 2-for-4 with two runs, two doubles and a walk.
» Is on a career-high six-game hitting streak...has gone 8-for-22 (.364) with four doubles, two home runs, six RBI and four walks during that span.
» The Illini have scored double-digit runs in three-straight games...last: May 5-7, 2023, vs. Michigan State.
» Illinois has now scored at least 10 runs in four-straight Big Ten home games.
» Illinois has won seven-straight Big Ten games at Illinois Field.
» Longest such winning streak since also winning seven-straight from May 9, 2015, to March 26, 2016.
» Four Fighting Illini had multiple hits in the ballgame.
» The Fighting Illini out-hit the Nittany Lions at a 14-10 clip.
» Illinois went 6-for-14 (.429) with runners in scoring position.
» Illinois pitchers faced 42 Penn State hitters in the game, allowing eight ground balls and seven fly balls while striking out 11.
» The Fighting Illini drew eight walks from Penn State pitching.
» Third-straight game with at least eight walks drawn.
» Illinois batters struck out just three times tonight, matching a season-low mark (three times).
» Have reached that mark in two of four Big Ten games.
This story created through content automation technology from Data Skrive.
