CHAMPAIGN, Ill. -- Illinois baseball (27-20, 12-13) held a 9-6 lead into the eighth inning but could not hold on and fell, 10-9, to No. 18 UCLA (35-14, 18-7) last night at Illinois Field.
Vytas Valincius went 4-for-5 with two runs, a double, home run and an RBI, Collin Jennings (1-for-5) homered and drove in three runs and Kyle Schupmann (2-for-4) also went yard in the contest.
Reed Gannon turned in 2.1 shutout innings in relief, allowing one hit and striking out one. Mitch Dye allowed two runs, unearned, over 1.1 relief frames, picking up a pair of punchouts.
HOW IT HAPPENED
The Illini took a 2-0 lead in the second, thanks to solo shots from Valincius and Schupmann, but the Bruins tied the ballgame in the third with a pair of runs.
UCLA took its first lead of the night with a four-run frame in the fourth, making it a 6-2 game.
In home half of the fifth, the Orange and Blue offense erupted for seven runs on six hits to go back on top, 9-6. Schupmann cut the lead to one by scoring on a wild pitch and Cameron Chee-Aloy took back the lead with a two-run double. Jennings then cleared the bases with a three-run blast, his team-leading 13th home run of the season. Drake Westcott capped the frame with an RBI-single.
Gannon and Dye combined to put up zeroes in the sixth and seventh but Illinois was also kept off the board, unable to add to its advantage.
The Bruins scored two runs on an error in the eighth and then scored two more in the ninth to take a 10-9 lead. Valincius would single with one out in the bottom of the ninth to bring the tying run to the plate but Illinois was unable to rally, falling in the series opener.
UP NEXT
The Fighting Illini will be back in action tomorrow for the middle game of this series vs. No. 18 UCLA. First pitch from Illinois Field is set for 6 p.m. CT.
GAME NOTES
» Vytas Valincius went 4-for-5 with two runs scored, a double, home run and an RBI.
» First-career four-hit game.
» Has three straight multi-hit games, going 9-for-12 (.750) during that span.
» Fourth game this season with multiple extra-base hits.
» Kyle Schupmann went 2-for-4 with two runs scored, a home run and an RBI.
» Has three runs and four hits in his last two games.
» Collin Jennings went 1-for-5 and slugged his team-leading 13th home run of the season.
» Reed Gannon turned in his 12th scoreless appearance of the season.
» 2.1 IP, 1 H, 0 R/ER, 1 BB, 1 SO
» The Fighting Illini out-hit the Bruins at a 10-8 clip.
» Illinois went 4-for-9 (.444) with runners in scoring position.
» Illinois had its first kid announcer rally of the season in the fifth, scoring seven runs on six hits.
» Illinois pitchers faced 47 UCLA hitters in the game, allowing 13 ground balls and six fly balls while striking out seven.
» Tonight's attendance of 1,852 was a season-high mark at Illinois Field.
This story created through content automation technology from Data Skrive.
