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Steady Pitching, Timely Hitting Lead to 13-5 Win at SIU
May 1, 2007 CARBONDALE, Ill. - Rightfielder Ryan Snowden went 4-for-5 with a double and four RBI, and Kevin Manson once again gave the Illini five solid innings in a mid-week start as Illinois downed Southern Illinois 13-5 to snap a three-game losing streak. Ten of Illinois' runs came with two outs and the Orange and Blue jumped out to a 7-2 lead after three innings. "We've done a good job of bouncing back all year," Illinois coach Dan Hartleb said. "We came out extremely focused and got good starting pitching from Kevin Manson. That allowed us to take the game over with our offense." Illinois got on top in the second inning with three runs on four hits and a passed ball. Second baseman Ryan Hastings started the two-out rally with a single through the right side before moving to second on a passed ball. Leftfielder Joe Bonadonna singled up the middle, driving in Hastings, and centerfielder Kyle Hudson doubled down the left-field line to plate Bonadonna. Snowden, who got the start in right field, followed with another base hit up the middle that scored Hudson from second and gave the Illini a 3-0 lead. The Salukis got two back in the second on a two-run homer by shortstop Tyler Lairson, but with one out in the third, DH Daniel Webb walked and Nick Stockwell, who started at first base, was hit by a pitch. Shortstop Shawn Roof then drove home Webb with a single and, one out later, Bonadonna walked. Hudson reached on a two-out error by the second baseman, allowing two runs to scored, and Snowden singled home Bonadonna from second for a 7-2 lead. The Illini tacked on two more runs with two outs in the fifth when Snowden laced a 2-2 pitch to left-center for a two-run double that scored Hastings and Bonadonna, pushing the margin to 9-2. In the sixth, Illinois added another run after Webb doubled with one out and Roof drove him in with a two-out double of his own, making the lead 10-2. Illinois starter Kevin Manson gave the Illini five strong innings, giving up just two runs on three hits, with both runs coming on a two-out wind-aided homer to left-center. He walked one and struck out three, tying his career-long outing. Mike Stankiewicz worked two near-perfect innings of relief, giving up just one hit and one walk. Omar Kadir then entered in the eighth, walked the lead-off man and gave up three runs on three hits before giving way to closer Jake Toohey. Toohey struck out the first two hitters he faced looking to get out of the inning with a 10-5 lead. "Manson's command is getting much better and he's starting to understand what it takes to be successful at this level," Hartleb said. "And like anything else, the more you get him out on the mound, the more he relaxes."
The Illini added three more in the ninth when Bonadonna beat out an infield hit to the shortstop and Craig Lutes, who entered the game in centerfield in the eighth, singled up the middle. New first baseman Mike Giller drove in Bonadonna after both runners moved up a base on a wild pitch, and Dominic Altobelli, who had entered in the eighth at third base, reached on an error by SIU third baseman Lou Johanns, scoring Lutes. One out later, DH Joe Mercurio reached on another error by Johanns and Stockwell reached on a third error by Johanns, scoring Altobelli for a 13-5 advantage. For the game, Bonadonna was 3-for-4 with four runs and an RBI, Roof went 2-for-5 with a double, two RBI and a run, and Webb was 1-for-3 with a double and two runs. Hastings was 1-for-4 with two runs and Hudson was 1-for-4 with a double, an RBI and a run. "The bottom of the lineup got us going today," Hartleb said. "Joe Bonadonna did a great job. He was on base all day and came up with some big hits. Hudson got things going early with a big hit. The thing that we did early is we hit with runners in scoring position and we had a lot of two-out production." Up Next: Illinois hosts Greenville in the last of three make-up games Wednesday at 6:05 p.m. Action can be heard live on WDWS AM-1400 and fightingillini.com. |
