CHAMPAIGN, Ill. -- For the second-straight weekend, Illinois baseball (17-11, 6-5) claimed a doubleheader sweep, earning a series win over Maryland (14-17, 3-8). The Illini opened the twinbill with a 7-4 win before a 15-3 run-rule triumph in eight innings in the nightcap, today at Illinois Field.
GAME 1 | Illinois 7, Maryland 4
Illinois opened the day/night doubleheader with a 7-4 win over Maryland in its Big Ten home opener.
Tyler Schmitt improved to 2-1 on the season, tossing 5.2 innings of one-run ball, allowing six hits to go along with three strikeouts. Zach Bates turned in a stellar relief outing to earn his second save of the campaign, working the final 2.1 frames of the contest, retiring all seven of the batter he faced, tallying four punchouts.
Jack Zebig (3 H) and Jacob Schroeder (2 H) posted multi-hit efforts, Greg LaChance and Kyle Schupmann each collected two RBI, while Collin Jennings and Cameron Chee-Aloy both drew three walks.
HOW IT HAPPENED
After Schmitt stranded a pair of Terrapins in the first inning, the Illini took the lead their first time up when LaChance raced home on a passed ball. Vytas Valincius followed two batters later with an RBI-double to make it 2-0.
Maryland would cut the lead in half by pushing a run across in the fourth but Illinois would push the lead to three with a pair of runs in the fifth. LaChance singled home Chee-Aloy and would later score on Zebig's infield single to make it 4-1.
LaChance would earn his second RBI of the day in the sixth inning, drawing a walk with the bases loaded after a 12-pitch at-bat to give the Orange and Blue a 5-1 advantage.
The visitors would go on to plate three runs in the seventh to make it a one-run ballgame at 5-4. Maryland loaded the bases in the frame with two outs but Bates came out of the bullpen to strand all three runners and preserve the lead.
Bates retired the side in order in the eighth, picking up two strikeouts, setting up a crucial inning for the Illini. In the bottom half of the frame, Schupmann doubled home two runs with two outs, giving Illinois some insurance heading into the ninth.
Bates then worked another 1-2-3 frame to close the game, picking up two more strikeouts, to give Illinois the 7-4 win.
GAME NOTES
» Jack Zebig went 3-for-5 with a run and an RBI.
» Extended his hitting streak to six games.
» Has three multi-hit performances during that span.
» Third three-hit game of the season.
» Jacob Schroeder went 2-for-4 with a run and a double.
» Third two-hit game in his last four and fourth such game overall this season.
» Greg LaChance notched his sixth game this season with at least two RBI.
» Kyle Schupmann collected his seventh multi-RBI performance this season.
» Cameron Chee-Aloy matched his career high in walks (3) set earlier this season on Feb. 15 vs. Abilene Christian.
» Has drawn five walks in his last two games and seven in his last four.
» Collin Jennings drew a career-high three walks.
» Tyler Schmitt improved to 2-1 on the season.
» 5.2 IP, 6 H, 1 R/ER, 5 BB, 3 SO
» Zach Bates earned his second win of the season.
» 2.1 IP, 0 H, 0 R/ER, 0 BB, 4 SO
» Retired all seven batters he faced.
» Inherited a bases-loaded situation with two outs in the seventh...stranded all three runners.
» Every Illinois starter reached base safely in the win.
» Illinois improves to 7-1 at Illinois Field this season.
» The Fighting Illini out-hit the Terrapins at a 9-8 clip.
» Illinois pitchers faced 43 Maryland hitters in the game, allowing eight ground balls and nine fly balls while striking out eight.
» The Fighting Illini drew seven walks from Maryland pitching.
GAME 2 | Illinois 15, Maryland 3
Illinois closed the day/night doubleheader with a 15-3 win in eight innings over Maryland to earn its second-straight Big Ten series win.
Ben Plumley turned in his second-straight quality start to improve to 3-2 on the season, tossing 6.0 innings and allowing two runs, both unearned, on three hits to go along with six punchouts.
Greg LaChance and Jack Zebig each homered in the ballgame, with Zebig's three-run blast in the eighth delivering the walk-off win. Five different Illini had multi-hit performances and six different players drove in at least two runs.
HOW IT HAPPENED
Illinois took a 5-0 lead in the first thanks to Collin Jennings' three-run little-league home run and a two-run double from Cameron Chee-Aloy.
That was more than enough run support for Plumley, who allowed just one hit his first time through the order and faced just two batters over the minimum.
Maryland plated an unearned run in the fourth but the Illini offense erupted for five more run in the bottom half of the frame. LaChance launched a two-run no-doubter to left and Vytas Valincius followed four batters later with an RBI-groundout. Coltin Quagliano plated two more runs with a two-out single to make it 10-1.
The Terrapins pushed runs across in the sixth and seventh but the Orange and Blue got those runs back on the other side of the stretch when Valincius doubled home a pair with two outs.
In the home half of the eighth, Zebig crushed a three-run blast down the right field line with two outs to give Illinois the 15-3 victory, his second walk-off home run of the season.
UP NEXT
The Fighting Illini go for the sweep tomorrow, with first pitch in this series finale at Illinois Field vs. Maryland set for 12 p.m. CT.
GAME NOTES
» Greg LaChance went 3-for-4 with four runs, a home run, two RBI and a walk.
» Extended his season-high hitting streak to six games.
» Has six RBI in his last four games and has driven in at least one run in each of those contests.
» Jack Zebig went 2-for-4 with four runs, a home run, three RBI and two walks.
» Tied for the team lead with seven home runs and leads the squad with 37 RBI.
» Extended his hitting streak to seven games.
» Has four multi-hit performances during that span.
» Second walk-off home run of the season...both have been to clinch run-rule wins.
» Cameron Chee-Aloy went 3-for-5 with a run, two doubles and two RBI.
» First three-hit game of the season.
» Ben Plumley tossed his second-straight quality start.
» 6.0 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 0 ER, 2 BB, 6 SO
» Has amassed at least six strikeouts in five of his eight starts.
» Nolan Girard worked a career-high 2.0 innings, allowing one run on two hits.
» Illinois improves to 8-1 at Illinois Field this season.
» Five Fighting Illini had multiple hits in the ballgame.
» The Fighting Illini out-hit the Terrapins at a 15-5 clip.
» Illinois went 6-for-19 (.316) with runners in scoring position.
» Illinois pitchers limited Maryland to just 1-for-10 (.100) with runners in scoring position.
» Illinois pitchers faced 33 Maryland hitters in the game, allowing nine ground balls and eight fly balls while striking out seven.
» The Fighting Illini drew seven walks from Maryland pitching.
This story created through content automation technology from Data Skrive.
