April 22, 2008
Final Stats
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. -
Sophomore Gabe DeMarco batted 3-for-3 with a double and a RBI, but the Illinois State baseball team (17-19) stranded 10 runners on base and fell, 10-4, to in-state rival Illinois Tuesday night at Illinois Field. The Redbirds were unable to bring home base runners when they did reach base, as Illinois State collected only six hits while it surrendered 17 base hits to the Fighting Illini.
DeMarco's career-high three hits led the Redbird offense, as freshman Ronnie Calvird finished 1-for-3 with a double and a RBI, while junior Kevin Dubler went 0-for-1 with three walks. Freshman Corey Maines (3-5) started the first inning sharp but ran into trouble in the second inning, as the right-hander picked up his fifth loss of the season. Maines surrendered four runs on seven hits in only two innings of work.
"I thought that at the seventh inning we were four hits away from being ahead in the game," said head coach Jim Brownlee. "But they were able to record some two-out hits and we didn't. We left a lot of guys on base and hit into some double plays that ended our threats. It was one of those games. Our pitching wasn't very good and Illinois had a good approach at the plate. They were able to capitalize on our errors, while we weren't able to score any runs when they made an error."
The Fighting Illini grabbed an early 4-0 lead in the second, as Maines ran into trouble with one out. After two batters reached on a single and a fielders' choice, catcher Aaron Johnson stepped up and lined a home run deep over the left field wall. But the Illini were not done, as they recorded three-straight singles to load the bases and added a run on a RBI groundout from designated hitter Mike Giller.
But the Redbirds would cut into the deficit in the top of the fourth, as Dubler led off with a walk and moved to second on a balk. After Dubler advanced to third on a groundout from designated hitter Anthony Ruffolo, senior Kyle Cherney was hit by a pitch to put runners on the corners. Calvird delivered a double to the gap in right field to score Dubler and put Cherney on third and DeMarco followed with a first-pitch single through the right side to put ISU back into the game at 4-2.
Illinois added a run in the bottom half of the frame, as Johnson led off with a double and later scored on a groundout from left fielder Casey McMurray. The Fighting Illini rallied to score two more runs in the fifth, as Illinois scored both runs with two outs off reliever Kyle Nelson.
Illinois State was able to plate one run in the top of the sixth, after Calvird led off with a walk and DeMarco followed with a single. Calvird moved another station on a fly out from junior Quinn Ewert, while senior Kevin Konsler brought Calvird home on sacrifice fly to right field. However, Illinois came right back and scored a run of its own in the bottom half of the frame, which gave the Fighting Illini an 8-3 margin.
After Illinois scored another run in the bottom of the seventh, the Redbirds answered with a run in the top half of the eighth. DeMarco led off with a walk and Ewert moved him to second with a single up the middle. Both runners moved into scoring position on an errant throw from Johnson to first base. Junior Mike Stalowy grounded out to second base to score DeMarco, as Illinois still held a 9-4 lead. The Fighting Illini scored their final run during the bottom of the eighth, after recording a double and a single with nobody out.
The Redbirds will travel to DeKalb, Ill., Wednesday to face another in-state rival in Northern Illinois. First pitch is slated for 3:30 p.m.
