For the second straight day, it was the team led by seniors Kyle Zaleski and Greg Blaesing that picked up the win in the Media World Series.
Greg Halbleib of WJBC saw his team blow an 8-1 lead, only to win it in the bottom of the seventh and final inning by a score of 9-8. Halbleib was up against Neil Milburt of the Chicago Tribune in the media managerial matchup.
In the bottom of the first inning, Luke Baughman, Greg Blaesing, Jeremy Pickrel, Kyle Zaleski, Luke Drone and Matt Standish all singled, and after one inning of play, it was 5-0.
The guys had a huge first inning despite me, noted Halbleib. I got a guy thrown out at home by a good fifteen feet.
After tacking on a couple of runs throughout the game, Halbleibs squad took a 8-1 lead into the top of the sixth. By the time the inning was over, Milburt had rallied the troops and the deficit was only one, at 8-7.
Milburts squad, led by seniors Todd Stein, Josh Kauten and Nate Whitney, was able to tie the game up in the top of the seventh on a Brad Sashko fielders choice ball to the shortstop.
This is my first time managing in this event, and I was very impressed by the character these guys showed in bouncing back from that big deficit, said Milburt.
In the bottom of the seventh, Halbleibs team pulled it out, as they scored on a wild pitch to win the game.
Junior Ned Schauff got the win, while freshman Dan Frega took the loss.
It was an interesting game, said Illinois State head coach Jim Brownlee. When one team gets a large lead, its impressive to see the other squad battle back and make it exciting.
In tomorrows matchup, Tim Fisher of WJBC will be coaching one squad, while WMBDs Kurt Pegler will be at the reigns of the other.
Im surprised to see one team win both of the first two games, laughed Brownlee. Maybe Zaleski and Blaesing are just out-managing the other team.
