CHAMPAIGN, Ill. -- Illinois baseball (17-13) got back into the win column tonight with a 10-6 victory over Illinois State (17-12) at Illinois Field.
Vytas Valincius, Camden Janik and Drake Westcott all had three hits in the contest, with Valincius homering and driving in a season-high four runs. Coltin Quagliano picked up two hits and also went yard.
Will Lavin earned the win out of the bullpen, tossing 1.1 shutout innings, allowing just one hit. Ben Plumley and Korey Bunselmeyer each worked 1.0 scoreless frames in relief, combining to yield one hit and strike out three batters.
HOW IT HAPPENED
The Illini got on the board their first time up to bat when Valincius brought home Cal Hejza with a two-out single.
The Redbirds then scored two runs in the third take a 2-1 lead before the Orange and Blue hit back for seven runs in the home half of the frame. Westcott evened up the ballgame with a single and Valincius followed up with a three-run round-tripper to make it 5-2. Illinois then continued to extend the lead by scoring on an error and Cameron Chee-Aloy picking up two RBI on a single, making it an 8-2 game.
Illinois State narrowed the lead to 8-3 before the Illini pushed the lead to seven in the seventh. Quagliano launched a solo shot to left center and Janik doubled down the left field line to bring home Chee-Aloy.
The Redbirds scored three times in the ninth, but it was not enough as Illinois would go on to win, 10-6.
UP NEXT
The Fighting Illini continue this season-long nine-game homestand with a weekend series vs. Northern Illinois. First pitch in Friday's series opener is scheduled for 6 p.m. CT.
GAME NOTES
» Vytas Valincius went 3-for-4 with a run, double, home run, four RBI and a walk.
    » Season-high four RBI.
    » First game this season with multiple extra-base hits.
    » Second three-hit game of the season.
» Drake Westcott went 3-for-5 with a run and RBI.
    » Has reached base safely in 23-straight games...longest active streak on the team.
    » Second three-hit game of the season.
» Camden Janik went 3-for-4 with a run, double, RBI and walk.
    » Extended his hitting streak to nine games...has gone 20-for-42 (.476) during that span with four doubles, a home run and eight RBI.
» Coltin Quagliano went 2-for-4 with a run, home run and RBI.
    » Extended his hitting streak to nine games...has gone 17-for-34 (.500) during that span with four doubles, two home runs and 11 RBI.
        » Has raised his season average from .229 to .308.
    » Leads the team with 29 RBI this season.
» Cameron Chee-Aloy went 1-for-4 with a run, two RBI and a walk.
    » Extended his career-long hitting streak 12 games...has gone 20-for-54 (.370) during that span...tied for longest streak by an Illini this season.
    » Has reached base safely in 16-straight games and in 26 of 27 overall.
» Will Lavin worked 1.0 scoreless innings, allowing just one hit.
    » Has not allowed a run in his last 3.0 innings of work (3 G).
» Ben Plumley tossed 1.0 scoreless innings, striking out two.
    » No runs allowed and three strikeouts in his last two appearances.
» The Illini offense scored double-digit runs for the 10th time this season.
» Four Fighting Illini had multiple hits in the ballgame.
» The Fighting Illini out-hit the Redbirds at a 13-6 clip.
» Illinois went 6-for-17 (.353) with runners in scoring position.
» Illinois pitchers faced 43 Illinois State hitters in the game, allowing 11 ground balls and 10 fly balls while striking out six.
» The Fighting Illini drew five walks from Illinois State pitching.
This story created through content automation technology from Data Skrive.
