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May 3, 2009

Box Score

EVANSTON, Ill. - No. 28 Illinois got seven shutout innings from starter Bryan Roberts (Lisle, Ill.) and got multiple hits from five players as the Illini cruised to a 9-0 win and a series sweep of Northwestern at Rocky Miller Park on Sunday. The Orange and Blue move into first place in the Big Ten by themselves after No. 27 Ohio State lost to Michigan, and it is the first time that Illinois has swept consecutive Big Ten series since 1999, when the Illini swept the final Big Ten series of 1998 and the first of 1999.

"Roberts did a great job of competing today," Illinois head coach Dan Hartleb said. "He gave up three leadoff hits, including two doubles, in the first three innings and did a great job of battling back and keeping them off the board. Offensively, we did what we're supposed to do, hitting up and down the order and continuing to add on runs throughout the game."

Illinois (30-13 overall, 14-4 in the Big Ten) scored first once again, putting three runs on the board in the third inning. Second baseman Josh Parr (Chillicothe, Ill.) reached on an error by Northwestern (12-30, 3-13) third baseman Chris Lashmet to open the frame and center fielder Joe Bonadonna (Buffalo Grove, Ill.) roped a pitch to the wall in center. Parr had to hold up on the fly ball, though, and was only able to advance to second. Left fielder Casey McMurray (Willow Springs, Ill.) was hit by a pitch to load the bases and shortstop Brandon Wikoff (Peoria, Ill.) laced a two-run single to center, bringing home Parr and Bonadonna. Third baseman Dominic Altobelli (Oak Forest, Ill.) drove home McMurray with a sacrifice fly to center for a 3-0 lead.

After Roberts struck out two in a scoreless bottom half of the third, right fielder Pete Cappetta (Lisle, Ill.) singled up the middle. DH Willie Argo (Davenport, Iowa) stepped up and blasted his 11th homer of the year, a line-drive shot to left-center that posted the Illini to a 5-0 lead. With the dinger, Argo moves into a tie for third place on the freshman home runs record list with Bubba Smith.

Roberts picked up in the fourth where he had left off, punching out the first two hitters he faced and getting a groundout after a two-out single. The Orange and Blue kept pressing in the fifth as McMurray and Wikoff started the inning with back-to-back doubles and Wikoff moved up a base on Altobelli's groundout. Catcher Aaron Johnson (Sussex Corner, New Brunswick) lined a single to center to score Wikoff and increase Illinois' lead to 7-0.

Roberts worked a clean inning in the fifth, allowing a leadoff single and a two-out walk but retiring the side on a groundout to Parr. The Illini tacked on a run in the sixth when Bonadonna singled up the middle with two outs and stole second. McMurray lashed a single to center to bring him home for an 8-0 advantage.

Roberts cruised through the sixth with a popup to Wikoff, his fourth punch-out of the day and sixth strikeout overall, and a foul-out to first baseman Matt Dittman (Libertyville, Ill.) to end the inning. After a scoreless top of the seventh, Roberts struck out pinch hitter Jake Wilson looking and finished the inning with a pop-up to Parr and a flyout to McMurray after a one-out walk.

After reliever Lee Zerrusen (Teutopolis, Ill.) worked a scoreless eighth inning in only 10 pitches, the Illini tacked on a run in the top of the ninth. Wikoff laced a one-out single to right-center and moved to third on Altobelli's single to left-center. Johnson lined a single to right to plate Wikoff for a 9-0 lead. In the bottom of the ninth, Zerrusen gave up a one-out double and a single, but he finished the game with a pair of strikeouts.

Wikoff finished the day 4-for-5 with a double, three RBIs and two runs, and Johnson was 2-for-4 with a double, an RBI and two runs. Johnson was 2-for-4 with two RBIs and Bonadonna was 2-for-5 with two runs and a stolen base. Altobelli increased his hitting streak to 13 and went 2-for-4 with an RBI to run his streak of consecutive multiple-hit games to 10.

On the weekend, Wikoff was 9-for-13 (.692) with three doubles for a .923 slugging percentage, seven RBIs and six runs. Altobelli hit .467 (7-for-15) with a double and a homer, four RBIs and five runs. Johnson hit .429 with a homer, seven RBIs and three runs, and Argo hit .400 with two homers, a 1.000 slugging percentage, five RBIs and four runs. In all, eight of the nine Illini starters hit over .300 for the series and Illinois outscored the Wildcats 34-14, out-hitting them 47-28.

Up Next: Illinois returns home Tuesday for a 6:30 p.m. contest against Western Illinois to start a week of five home games. The Illini face Evansville Wednesday at 6 p.m. and welcome No. 27 Ohio State to Champaign for a key Big Ten weekend series. Friday's series opener is the Bleacher Bum Barbecue, where all fans will receive free admission, the first 1,000 through the gates will get free food and there will be fireworks after the game.