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Baseball
#25 Illini Drop 10-7 Game to #27 Ohio State
May 9, 2009
No. 25 Illinois fought back from three different deficits but couldn't overcome four late runs by No. 27 Ohio State as the Buckeyes evened the weekend series at a game apiece with a 10-7 victory in front of 1,538 fans, the second-highest crowd at Illinois Field this season. Left fielder Casey McMurray (Willow Springs, Ill.) led the Illini with a 3-for-5, three-RBI day with a home run as Illinois now stands in second place in the Big Ten at 32-15 overall, 15-5 in the league, one-half game behind Minnesota. "Both teams swung the bats really well today, they ended up coming out on top," Illinois head coach Dan Hartleb said. "I didn't think we played poorly at all." OSU scored first for the second-straight game, pushing a run across in the second inning as DH Ryan Dew slid under the tag at home on a base hit by third baseman Justin Miller for a 1-0 lead. But Illinois fought back with a pair of runs in the bottom of the second to go up 2-1. First baseman Matt Dittman (Libertyville, Ill.) singled to start the frame and right fielder Pete Cappetta (Lisle, Ill.) yanked a double into the left-field corner to bring home Dittman and tie the game at 1. Second baseman Josh Parr (Chillicothe, Ill.) singled through the left side to put runners at the corners and center fielder Joe Bonadonna (Buffalo Grove, Ill.) knocked a base hit to center that brought home Cappetta for a 2-1 lead. After starter Will Strack (Sycamore, Ill.) worked a seven-pitch inning in the third, catcher Aaron Johnson ripped a 1-2 pitch to left for a one-out homer - his ninth of the year - to increase the Illini lead to 3-1 after three innings. OSU struck for three runs in the fourth to end Strack's day after he gave up three hits and two walks, with reliever Lee Zerrusen (Teutopolis, Ill.) entering with the bases loaded. He induced a line drive to left-center that Bonadonna snagged over his head for the final out as the Buckeyes took a 4-3 lead. But the Orange and Blue tied it up in the bottom half of the fourth when DH Willie Argo (Davenport, Iowa) started the frame by doubling to left and Parr sacrificed him to third. Bonadonna walked but was caught stealing before McMurray singled through the left side to bring in Argo and tie the game at 4. OSU kept plugging away with a single and a two-run homer in the fifth to go ahead 6-4. Zerrusen got out of the fifth and struck out two in a scoreless sixth inning to set the stage for another comeback by the Illini. With one out, Bonadonna doubled to left-center and McMurray laced an opposite-field two-run homer, his second dinger of the year, to knot the game at 6. But once again, Ohio State rebounded from an Illini scoring inning with one of its own in the seventh, as third baseman Justin Miller dropped a perfectly placed ground-rule double just inside the foul line in the right-field corner and a sacrifice bunt moved him to third. Another double brought home Miller and Zerrusen induced a pop-up to Dominic Altobelli (Oak Forest, Ill.) at third for the second out. But left fielder Zach Hurley doubled to right, bringing home shortstop Tyler Engle for an 8-6 lead.
Illinois threw yet another counter-punch in the bottom of the seventh when Dittman drew a one-out walk and Cappetta singled to right-center and moved to second when the ball bounced off right fielder Michael Arp's chest, as Dittman advanced to third. Argo grounded out to second, plating Dittman, but the Illini couldn't bring home the tying run as the inning ended with OSU leading 8-7. Aaron Martin (Georgetown, Ill.) worked a 1-2-3 inning in the eighth after retiring the final hitter in the seventh inning, but Illinois couldn't mount a rally in the bottom half. The Buckeyes tacked on two more runs on three hits in the ninth and OSU closer Jake Hale was successful in his save attempt in the bottom of the inning as the Buckeyes took the 10-7 win. In addition to McMurray's stellar day at the plate, Bonadonna was on base in all five plate appearances, going 2-for-2 with a double, three walks, an RBI and a run. Cappetta also went 2-for-3 with a walk, a double, an RBI and a run as all but one Illini starter had a hit on the day Up Next: The same two teams square off in the rubber game of the weekend series at 1:05 p.m. on Sunday. Bryan Roberts will take the mound for Illinois and Eric Best will start for Ohio State, and the Illini will honor their senior class prior to first pitch. |
