CHAMPAIGN, Ill. -- Illinois baseball (26-15) got back into the win column with an emphatic 21-11 run-rule victory, in seven innings, over No. 24 Indiana State (31-10) tonight at Illinois Field.
Ryan Moerman went 4-for-5 at the plate with three runs, three home runs and nine RBI. Cal Hejza also had a multi-home run performance, going 2-for-5 with two runs, two home runs and three RBI. Connor Milton delivered the walk-off win with a solo blast to center to cap a 2-for-3, two run, double, home run, one RBI and two walk performance. The Illini slugged a total of seven home runs in the ballgame, their fifth game of the season with at least five round-trippers.
Jake Swartz picked up the victory out of the bullpen to improve to 2-2 on the season. The right-hander went 3.0 innings, giving up three runs on four hits and striking out two. Korey Bunselmeyer turned in a scoreless seventh inning, retiring all three batters on groundouts.
HOW IT HAPPENED
Indiana State took a 1-0 lead after its first trip to the plate, but it was short lived as Hejza took the first pitch he saw over the fence in left to immediately tie the game. Illinois would take the lead for good when Camden Janik raced home on a passed ball to make it 2-1.
The Illini offense erupted for six runs in the second, scoring all of them with two outs. Hejza doubled his home run tally by crushing a two-run shot and Vytas Valincius chipped in with an RBI-single three batters later. Moerman then followed with a three-run dinger to make it 8-1.
The Sycamores hit back for three runs in the third to make it 8-4, but for the second-consecutive frame, Illinois plated six with two outs. Drake Westcott started the scoring by drawing a bases-loaded walk and Valincius picked up his second RBI of the night by getting hit by a pitch. Moerman followed with a grand slam to center to make it 14-4.
Indiana State would not go away, picking up a six-run frame of its own to make it 14-10.Â
The Orange and Blue would make it an 18-10 game by scoring four times in fifth. Valincius scored on an error and Coltin Quagliano slugged a three-run opposite-field blast with two outs.
The visitors put a run on the board in the sixth but Illinois would get that run back and more in the bottom half of the inning when Moerman went deep for the third time in the ballgame, a two-run shot, making it 20-10.
After Bunselmeyer kept the Sycamores off the board in the sixth, Milton sent all 1,127 fans home happy with his walk-off homer to center, giving the Illini the 21-11 victory.
UP NEXT
The Fighting Illini will back in action on Friday, where they begin a three-game series against Big Ten foe Ohio State. First pitch in Friday's series opener is set for 6 p.m. CT.
GAME NOTES
» Ryan Moerman went 4-for-5 with three runs, three home runs and nine RBI.
    » First-career three-home run game...third multi-homer performance of the season and the fourth such game of his career...third different Illini to have a three-home run game this season.
    » Career-high nine RBI...fell just one RBI shy of matching the program record of 10, set by Bubba Smith on April 30, 1991.
    » Leads the Big Ten with 15 home runs.
    » Has hit safely in four of his last five games...has gone 9-for-20 (.450) during that span to increase his season average from .231 to .263.
» Coltin Quagliano went 3-for-4 with three runs, a home run, three RBI and a walk.
    » Extended his career-best hitting streak to 20 games...has gone 37-for-78 (.474) with six doubles, six home runs and 29 RBI during that span.
        » First Illini with a 20-game hitting streak since Cam McDonald had a 23-game hitting streak from Feb. 20 - April 3, 2022.
    » Leads the team with 47 RBI...ranks seventh in the Big Ten.
» Cal Hejza went 2-for-5 with two runs, two home runs and three RBI.
    » First multi-homer game of the season...eighth different Illini to have such a game this season.
    » Has reached base safely in 26-straight games.
» Camden Janik went 2-for-3 with 2-for-3 with four runs and two walks.
    » Career-high four runs scored...has scored at least one run in six-straight games.
    » Extended his hitting streak to eight games...has gone 16-for-31 (.500) during that span with two doubles, a home run and 11 RBI.
» Vytas Valincius 2-for-4 with three runs and two RBI.
    » Has multi-RBI games in three-straight contests...has a total of 15 RBI in his last five games.
» Connor Milton went 2-for-3 with two runs, a double, home run, RBI and two walks.
    » First-career walk-off home run...second Illini with walk-off blast this season.
    » Has six home runs in his last 30 at-bats (10 G)...had none in first 101 at-bats of his career.
    » Has hit safely in eight of his last 10 games...has reached base safely in eight straight.
» The Fighting Illini had three players put together games with multiple extra-base hits.
» Six Fighting Illini had multiple hits in the ballgame.
» The Fighting Illini out-hit the Sycamores at a 17-10 clip.
» Illinois went 5-for-14 (.357) with runners in scoring position.
» The Illini hit seven home runs in the contest, their second game this season with at least seven long balls.
    » Have homered in 12-straight games, extending their season-long streak.
    » The seven home runs are the most by an Indiana State opponent this season...previous high was four (two times).
    » Have homered 83 times on the season...only Big Ten team with more than 70 dingers.
    » The Illini now trail the single-season program record (91, 1998) by eight home runs.
    » Are 7-0 this season when hitting at least four home runs.
» Illinois scored 19 of its 21 runs with two outs.
» The 21 runs scored are the most scored by an Indiana State opponent this season.
    » Just the third time an opponent has scored in double-digits on the Sycamores this season.
    » 21 runs most by an Indiana State opponent since April 20, 2016 (Purdue, 22).
» Second time this season that Illinois has scored 21 runs.
    » First time in the Dan Hartleb era with two games with at least 20 runs scored...first time overall since the 2000 season.
» Illinois picked up its first win over a ranked opponent this season...are now 1-5 in such contests.
» The Illini have won 13-straight games at Illinois Field, tied for the second-longest active streak in the nation...are 16-1 overall at home this season.
» Illinois pitchers faced 35 Indiana State hitters in the game, allowing seven ground balls and six fly balls while striking out six.
» The Fighting Illini drew seven walks from Indiana State pitching.
This story created through content automation technology from Data Skrive.
