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May 5, 2007

Game 1 Box Score | Game 2 Box Score

ANN ARBOR, Mich. - Illinois never trailed and was tied just once as the Illini swept a doubleheader from No. 13 Michigan, winning 7-4 in eight innings in game one and 6-3 in the nightcap in front of 959 fans at Ray Fisher Stadium. The Orange and Blue got strong pitching from Mike Stankiewicz and Jake Toohey in game one and Scott Shaw in game two as they swept their second doubleheader of the season and ensured at least a series split with the Wolverines for the 16th straight year. Mike Rohde, Ryan Hastings and Daniel Webb all homered for the Illini on the day.

"Shaw and Stankiewicz had some tremendous adversity over the past two weeks and to step up against the best line-up in the conference and control their offense like they did today is an outstanding job," Illinois coach Dan Hartleb said. "They made quality pitches that Michigan was only able to hit off the end or the handle of their bats and that allowed us to make a lot of plays in the field."

The Illini grabbed an early lead in game one, scoring a run in the second after second baseman Ryan Hastings walked, moved to second on a walk by leftfielder Joe Bonadonna and scored on a base hit by centerfielder Kyle Hudson for a 1-0 lead. In the third, Illinois added two runs when third baseman Brandon Wikoff drew a lead-off walk and, one out later, first baseman Mike Rohde went opposite-field with a two-run homer to left for his second homer of the year and a 3-0 lead.

Michigan got a run back in the third, but the Illini put another tally on the board in the fourth. Bonadonna singled, moved to second on a wild pitch, advanced to third on Hudson's single and scored on a sacrifice fly by rightfielder Ryan Snowden, pushing the lead to 4-1.

The Wolverines got a run in the sixth, though, on Zach Putnam's solo homer, but starter Mike Stankiewicz appeared to have things under control as he looked for his third complete game. He induced a grounder by the first Michigan hitter in the seventh, but Hastings bobbled it and the runner was ruled safe. After a fielder's choice grounder got the lead runner at second, Wolverine centerfielder Eric Rose reached on a bunt single, but shortstop Jason Christian was put out at third trying to advance an extra base on the bunt-and-run. With two outs, Stankiewicz gave up a first-pitch, two-run game-tying homer to Nate Recknagel before Jake Toohey came on to get the last out of the inning with the score knotted 4-4.

Illinois pushed back ahead with a three-run inning in the eighth, though, as Webb singled to lead off and was pinch-run for by Nick Stockwell. Stockwell moved to second on a wild pitch - the sixth of the game by Michigan pitchers - and shortstop Shawn Roof drove him home with a single up the middle. Hastings sacrificed Roof to second and Bonadonna walked. Hudson then singled home Roof, and Bonadonna scored on a double to the left-center field wall by Snowden to take a 7-4 lead. Toohey worked a 1-2-3 eighth inning for his first win of the year.

In the nightcap, the Illini put up a five-spot in the first inning, chasing Wolverine starter Andrew Hess after just two-thirds of an inning. Snowden led off with a single and Wikoff laced a hit-and-run single through the left side to put Snowden at third. Davis drove in Snowden with a groundout that put Wikoff on third and Rohde singled to left, driving in Wikoff. Rohde stole second and moved to third on a groundout before Roof singled off Hess' leg into right field. Hastings then ripped a 2-2 pitch over the fence in right for his fifth homer of the year and a 5-0 Illinois lead after a half-inning.

The Illini added a run in the third when Webb smashed his first home run as an Illini, hitting it to nearly the same spot that Hastings had earlier and making the Illinois lead 6-0.

Michigan fought back with three runs in the fourth, including Putnam's second homer of the day, a two-run bomb, and a bloop RBI single by leftfielder Derek VanBuskirk, cutting the Illini lead to 6-3. But Shaw toughened up from there, getting 1-2-3 innings in the fifth and seventh innings and inducing a 6-4-3 double play to end the sixth for his second complete game of the year. For the game, Shaw gave up six hits but didn't allow a walk while tying a career high with six strikeouts.

Offensively, Webb was 3-for-7 with a homer, an RBI and a run, and Wikoff broke out of a slump with a 3-for-7 day with two runs. Roof also went 3-for-7 with two RBI and two runs, while Hudson also went 3-for-7 with two RBI. Bonadonna had a two-hit game in the first contest and Hastings had a pair of hits in the nightcap.

"Overall, we played great baseball today," Hartleb said. "We were very unselfish and played the game how it's supposed to be played. We've taken a step forward mentally this weekend."

Up Next: The same two teams finish the series with an 11:05 a.m. (CT) start on Sunday. Freshman Kevin Manson will get the start for the Illini.