GREENVILLE, S.C. – Illinois (5-4) kicked off the First Pitch Invitational with a 10-inning win, 5-4, over Michigan State on Friday afternoon, extending the Illini's winning streak to three games.
Michael Farina delivered the game-winning hit in extras, Daniel Contreras and Nick Groves tallied three hits apiece, and Kyle Remington pitched the final three innings in relief en route to victory.Â
After the Illini faced a 3-1 deficit in the eighth, back-to-back home runs from AJ Putty and Collin Jennings saw the Orange and Blue eventually send the game to extra innings.
Groves went 3-for-4 while scoring the Illini's first run of the afternoon. Contreras recorded a 3-for-6Â day at the plate with an RBI single.
Putty posted a 2-for-4 outing, Will Johannes went 2-for-5, and Jennings notched a 1-for-3 day with two walks. Farina's lone hit came in the clutch on his game-winning RBI double in the 10th.
Ben Plumley secured a quality start with his six innings of work while allowing three runs and striking out two. Mitch Dye tossed a scoreless seventh before Remington entered for the final three innings, registering his second win of the campaign across three innings while conceding one hit and one run with one strikeout.
After Contreras opened the scoring in the third, the Spartans scored three times in the fourth to claim a 3-1 edge.
Both teams went scoreless over the next three innings before the Illini put up three runs in the eighth. Back-to-back home runs from Putty and Jennings tied the contest at 3-3 before the Orange and Blue went in front on an error.
Michigan State scored once in the home half of the eighth, and the game eventually moved into extra innings.
In the top half of the 10th, Farina registered his first hit of the day, an RBI double, which proved to be the game-winner. Remington ultimately tossed a 1-2-3 inning in the home half of the frame to close out the victory.
GAME NOTES
- Nick Groves went 3-for-4 with a run and a walk.
- Extended his on-base streak to 21 games.
- Tied his Illini career-high with three hits.
- Had multiple hits for the fifth time this season.
- Michael Farina finished 1-for-5 at the plate with the game-winning double.
- Has reached base in each of his first nine games as an Illini.
- Has a hit in three straight games.
- Daniel Contreras went 3-for-6 with an RBI.
- Tied his Illini career-high with three hits.
- Has multiple hits in four games.
- Has a hit in eight of the last nine games.
- Has reached base successfully in eight straight games.
- Has an RBI in six of the last seven games.
- Kyle Schupmann collected a 1-for-5 day at the plate and a walk.
- Extended his on-base streak to 20 games.
- AJ Putty went 2-for-4 with a home run.
- Has multiple hits in three straight games and in five outings overall.
- Has a hit in seven of the last eight games.
- Hit his third home run of the season.
- Collin Jennings went 1-for-3 with a home run and two walks.
- Has a hit in each of the last seven games.
- Hit his third home run of the season.
- Has a homer in back-to-back games.
- Drew a season-high two walks.
- Will Johannes went 2-for-5.
- Has multiple hits in three straight games.
- Has 2+ hits in four games this season.
- Ben Plumley earned a quality start with six innings and three earned runs.
- Recorded his third start of the season.
- Logged his first quality start of the season.
- Recorded season-highs in innings pitched
- Tied his career-long start of 6.0 innings.
- Mitch Dye threw a 1-2-3 inning in the seventh.
- Made his third appearance of the season.
- Tallied his second scoreless/hitless outing of the campaign.Â
- Kyle Remington went three innings in relief, getting the win and striking out two.
- Made his third appearance of the season.
- Has thrown 3+ innings in each of his three outings.
- Secured his second win of the season.
- Has allowed one hit or fewer in each of his three appearances.
- Illinois is now 2-0 in extra-inning games this season.
- The Illini now have a season-long three-game winning streak.
- Illinois has double-digit hits in seven games this season.
- The Illini have 10+ hits in seven of their nine games this season.
- Illinois outhit Michigan State by a 14-6 margin.
UP NEXT
Illinois continues its time at the First Pitch Invitational on Saturday morning against Charleston. The Illini will take on the Cougars at 9 a.m. CT at the Greenville Drive's Fluor Field.
