VERO BEACH, Fla. --Â Illinois baseball (7-6, 1-2) used a four-run eighth to power past Michigan (8-6, 2-1), 6-2, today at Holman Stadium at the Jackie Robinson Training Complex.
Jack Zebig went 2-for-3 with a run, double, three RBI and a walk and Vytas Valincius went 1-for-4 with two RBI to lead the Illini offensively.
Regan Hall took no decision in his first start of the season, allowing two runs on five hits over five innings of work. Zach Bates starred out of the bullpen, working 2.0 scoreless frames, racking up three strikeouts.
HOW IT HAPPENED
Michigan plated runs in the second and fourth inning to jump out to a 2-0 lead. In the bottom of the fourth, Zebig drew a walk with the bases loaded to get Illinois on the board. Valincius followed by bouncing into a double play but another run would come home to tie the game at 2-2.
Hall would keep the Wolverines off the board in the fifth and Evan Clark held Michigan scoreless in the sixth. Bates took the mound in the seventh, working a 1-2-3 frame and followed with a scoreless eighth, stranding a runner in scoring position with a pair of strikeouts.
In the home half of the eighth, Jacob Schroeder started the inning with a single and Cameron Chee-Aloy followed with a walk. Nick Groves moved the runners over with a sacrifice bunt and Grant Ross loaded the bases by reaching on an error. Zebig then doubled down the line to bring home a pair and Valincius followed with a two-run single to give the Orange and Blue a 6-2 lead.
Reed Gannon took over on the mound in the ninth and kept Michigan off the board and Illinois would go on to win the series finale 6-2.
UP NEXT
The Fighting Illini will be back in action of Tuesday, when they welcome in-state foe Western Illinois to Illinois Field. First pitch is scheduled for 6 p.m. CT.
GAME NOTES
» Jack Zebig went 2-for-3 with a run, double, three RBI and a walk.
    » Went 5-for-10 with six runs, a double, two home runs, seven RBI and three walks in the series.
    » Has three RBI in back-to-back games...has 19 RBI through 13 games this season.
    » Has hit safely in eight-straight contests...has gone 15-for-31 (.484) during that span with three doubles, three home runs and 16 RBI.
» Vytas Valincius went 1-for-4 with two RBI.
    » Has hit safely in 11 of 12 games this season.
» Zach Bates earned his first-career win at Illinois.
    » 2.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R/ER, 0 BB, 3 SO
» Illinois went 2-for-6 (.333) with runners in scoring position.
» Illinois pitchers limited Michigan to just 2-for-13 (.154) with runners in scoring position.
» Illinois pitchers faced 40 Michigan hitters in the game, allowing 13 ground balls and seven fly balls while striking out five.
This story created through content automation technology from Data Skrive.
