April 18, 2006
Box Score
NORMAL, Ill. -
In last season's baseball game between the Illinois State Redbirds and the Illinois Fighting Illini, the Redbirds pulled out a 4-3 road victory over the Illini in Champaign, Ill. On Tuesday, the Illini returned the favor as they defeated the Redbirds, 8-3, on the road at Redbird Field in a mid-week non-conference showdown between the two in-state rivals. Illinois improves to 17-16 on the season with the win, while the Redbirds drop to 12-23 overall in 2006.
Junior Luke Baughman (3-3) suffered the loss for the Redbirds, after giving up six earned runs and seven hits in three innings of work. Scott Shaw (2-2) evened his season record for the Illini as he allowed just three runs, only one of which was earned, and gave up five hits in six innings on the mound.
Illinois jumped out to an early lead, scoring two runs off Baughman in the top of the first inning. Ryan Snowden led off the game with a double down the third base line and then advanced to third base on a ground out by Shawn Roof. Dave Schultz was up next and laced a single into left field, scoring Snowden and bringing the score to 1-0. With two outs, Mike Rohde doubled to right field which allowed Schultz to score and gave the Illini a two-run lead.
The Illini lead would extend their lead to six runs in the top of the third inning, after scoring four runs on four hits and one costly ISU error in the frame. Rohde's second hit of the day earned him his second RBI of the day, as he singled and brought in Roof to get the scoring started. A Lars Davis two-run double would make the score 5-0 in favor of the Illini and Rohde would later score on an error by Jesse Griswold, widening the Illinois lead to 6-0 after two and a half innings of play.
However, ISU would answer with three runs in the bottom half of the third inning to cut the Illini lead to three. With one out, Blake Schoonover doubled to right center field to give the Redbirds their first runner in scoring position of the game. After Kevin Dubler reached on a dropped pop-up by Shaw, Jay Molina doubled to right field scoring Schoonover from second base to cut into the Illinois lead at 6-1. A sacrifice fly by Matt Bolt would then score Dubler from third base for the second run of the inning, while Molina tagged up and advanced to third base. Ryan Anetsberger's single through the left side of the infield would then bring in Molina from third for the third run of the inning, cutting the Illinois lead in half at 6-3.
Following three scoreless innings by both teams, the Illini scored a run in the top of the seventh inning on a Davis RBI single to extend the lead to four runs at 7-3. One final run in the top of the ninth would put the cap on the game for Illinois and bring the score to its final at 8-3, which snapped a four-game losing streak against the Redbirds.
Senior Kris Jenkins extended his hitting streak to 12 games with his hit in the second inning and 2-for-4 in the game. Kyle O'Brien also hit the ball well for ISU, finishing with three hits. Rohde paced the Illini, going 3-for-3 with two RBI, while Davis finished 2-for-4 with three RBI in the win.
ISU returns to action on Friday, when it hosts the Illinois Institute of Technology for a three-game weekend non-conference match up. Junior Kitt Kopach (1-6) will take the mound for Redbirds against the Scarlet Hawks, with the first pitch scheduled for 6 p.m. at Redbird Field.
