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May 15, 2009

Box Score

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - Illini reliever Lee Zerrusen (Teutopolis, Ill.) struck out Purdue slugger Dan Black with the bases loaded in the bottom of the ninth to preserve Illinois' 6-3 win over the Boilermakers at Lambert Field as well as the Orange and Blue's Big Ten title hopes as they stand one game behind league-leading Minnesota heading into the Gophers' Friday night game at Penn State. Third baseman Dominic Altobelli (Oak Forest, Ill.) went 4-for-5 with two doubles and DH Willie Argo (Davenport, Iowa) drove was 3-for-4 with four RBIs as he moved to the No. 5 spot in the batting order.

"Our guys made some plays late in the game and Lee Zerrusen did a great job of working out of jams today," Illinois head coach Dan Hartleb said. "We'll take this win and move forward, and try to find a way to win tomorrow."

The Illini improve to 33-17 overall, 16-7 in the Big Ten, one game behind first-place Minnesota prior to the Gophers' game at Penn State on Friday night. Illinois also sits one-half game behind Ohio State and Indiana, who are tied with a 16-6 record, one-half game behind Minnesota.

Illinois touched the scoreboard first with two runs in the top of the first inning. With one out, left fielder Casey McMurray (Willow Springs, Ill.) drew a walk and shortstop Brandon Wikoff (Peoria, Ill.) singled up the middle. After an out, Argo, who moved up to the five-hole in the batting order with catcher Aaron Johnson (Sussex Corner, New Brunswick) taking the day off, laced a two-run double off the left-field wall to post the Illini to a 2-0 lead.

Purdue got a run back in the bottom half after a leadoff triple and an RBI groundout to cut the Illinois lead to 2-1. But the Illini regained their two-run advantage in the second when right fielder Pete Cappetta (Lisle, Ill.) drew a leadoff walk, stole second and advanced to third when the catcher's perfect throw to second sailed into center field because no one covered the base. Two outs later, center fielder Joe Bonadonna (Buffalo Grove, Ill.) singled through the left side to bring home Cappetta for a 3-1 margin.

Strack cruised through the second, third and fourth innings, allowing only a one-out walk in the second and a leadoff single in the fourth. The Boilers pushed across a run in the fifth after a leadoff double and consecutive groundouts, but Strack stranded a runner on second after a two-out double when he struck out Purdue left fielder Ben Wolgamot looking for the second-straight time, making Illinois' lead 4-2. Strack responded with a quick sixth inning, giving up a leadoff single but getting picked up by catcher Adam Davis (Bloomingdale, Ill.), who caught that runner stealing at second.

The Illini weren't able to capitalize on a golden opportunity in the top of the seventh when Wikoff singled to second base with two outs, Altobelli singled to left-center and Argo was hit by a pitch to load the bases, as a comebacker to the mound allowed Purdue to wriggle out of danger. The Boilers continued to chip away at the Illini lead in the bottom half, scoring a run after a leadoff double, a single, a groundout and another double, but Bonadonna threw out a runner at home plate on a medium-depth fly ball to left-center to keep Purdue to only run and maintain a 4-3 lead.

After the Illini went down in order in the eighth, Purdue started to put together a scoring threat in the bottom of the frame against Zerrusen. A leadoff hit and a one-out walk put two runners on for DH Drew Madia. Madia looped a fly ball to left, where McMurray made a diving effort and appeared to come up with the ball after rolling over, but he was ruled to have trapped it, loading the bases. But Zerrusen coaxed a foul-out to Craig Lutes, who had entered the game at first base, and induced a grounder to Josh Parr (Chillicothe, Ill.) at second base to keep the Boilers off the board and cling to a 4-3 lead.

In the top of the ninth, it looked as if the Illini were going to go down quietly after two quick outs, but Purdue first baseman John Cummins muffed a throw from second baseman Eric Charles on an apparent inning-ending groundout by Wikoff, giving Illinois new life. Altobelli laced a double over the third-base bag to drive home Wikoff and Argo singled to left-center to bring around Altobelli for a 6-3 advantage.

Purdue started the ninth with a leadoff walk but Zerrusen fielded his position on a grounder to the right of the mound for an out. He allowed a single but induced a pop-up to Lutes for the second out. Zerrusen walked Cummins on a close 3-2 pitch, loading the bases for Black, who entered the at bat with 14 home runs on the year. The count ran to 3-2 before Zerrusen struck him out with an outside fastball to notch his second save of the year and give the Illini the 6-3 win.

Altobelli went 4-for-5 with two doubles, an RBI, two runs and a stolen base, and Argo was 3-for-4 with four RBIs, a double and a steal. Wikoff went 2-for-5 with two runs and Bonadonna was 2-for-4 with a steal and an RBI. Zerrusen pitched 2 2/3 shutout innings of relief, walking three and giving up three hits while striking out one. Strack was solid in 6 1/3 innings, giving up three runs on eight hits and one walk with four strikeouts.

Up Next: The Illini and the Boilers finish the series Saturday at noon (CT), with Bryan Roberts starting for the Orange and Blue and Purdue sending Matt Morgan to the hill.