May 20, 2007

Box Score |  Notes |  Illinois/MSU Game 4 Gallery 

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. - Junior catcher Lars Davis and senior pitcher Jake Toohey stole the show on Sunday, Davis going yard twice and Toohey throwing 4 1/3 incredible innings of relief to lift Illinois into the Big Ten Tournament with an 8-7 victory over Michigan State in the final game of the regular season after falling behind 7-0 in the fifth inning. The win gives the Illini the No. 5 seed, meaning they will face No. 4 Iowa in the first round of the Big Ten Tournament Wednesday at 11:05 a.m. (CT) in Ann Arbor, Mich. It also marks Illinois' second 30-win season in the last three.

"You fall behind one, two, three runs, but when it's seven runs, you just never know," Illinois coach Dan Hartleb said. "But we found a way to keep pecking away and pecking away. The difference between today and yesterday was our guys continued to take good swings and didn't worry about the long ball. Then we got some guys on and got some pressure on them, they elevated some pitches and we got some big hits."

Michigan State (25-26 overall, 15-16 Big Ten) started the game where it left off from Saturday, as catcher Kyle Day hit a solo shot in the first, Brad Doherty blasted a lead-off homer in the third and DH Sean Walker smacked a two-out solo shot in the fifth. The Spartans also added a single run in the second and a pair in the fourth for a 7-0 lead.

In the fifth, the Illini (30-25, 16-14) started a comeback when shortstop Shawn Roof was hit by a pitch with two outs. Second baseman Ryan Hastings ripped a single to right-center that moved Roof to third. First baseman Nick Stockwell, subbing for an injured Mike Rohde, who was in the DH slot, then smashed a 2-2 offering from MSU starter Ryan MacFarlane off the scoreboard for a three-run homer, his third of the year, cutting the Spartan lead to 7-3.

"Stockwell stepped up," Davis said. "It was big-time for him and he came out swinging. He did a great job like he's done all year."

Jake Toohey had entered in the fifth to record the final out of the inning, but he ran into trouble in the sixth. After a pair of singles to lead off the frame, Davis' snap throw to second bounced off the runner's back and into second, putting runners at second and third with no outs. Toohey calmly worked through the heart of the MSU order, striking out the No. 3 hitter looking, getting the clean-up hitter to foul out to third and inducing a flyout by the No. 5 hitter.

In the bottom of the sixth, Davis smashed his 12th homer of the year to right field with two outs and Rohde singled over the shortstop's head. Rightfielder Daniel Webb walked and Roof drove in Rohde with a sharp base hit to right, cutting the margin to 7-5.

Toohey gave up a lead-off walk in the seventh, but worked out of the frame without any damage. He got a fouled-off bunt attempt from the next hitter, then a grounder that moved the runner to second. The next hitter grounded to third, which Brandon Wikoff bobbled, but the runner got caught in a rundown between second and third, where he was tagged out for the inning's final out.

The Illini continued the rally in the eighth as centerfielder Kyle Hudson shot a one-out single up the middle and moved to third on a poor pick-off throw. Snowden brought him home with a deep sacrifice fly to center, then Wikoff drove a two-out triple to the wall in right-center. Davis followed by ripping his second homer of the day, a two-run bomb down the right-field line to give Illinois its first lead of the day, 8-7.

Toohey continued to pitch into trouble in the eighth, giving up a lead-off double to the No. 1 hitter in the order, then a single through the left side put runners on first and third with no outs. With the infield at double-play depth, Toohey got the No. 3 hitter to hit a grounder back to him. He quickly looked the runner back to third before starting a 1-6-3 double play. He then got a flyout to end the threat without surrendering the tying run.

After the Illini went scoreless in the eighth, Toohey walked the lead-off man in the ninth - Walker, who had homered three times in the last three games - but induced a double play before striking out the final hitter looking with a nasty 1-2 changeup.

"The senior leadership that he brought was just great," Davis said of Toohey. "He's been a key to our staff all year, and we brought him in the fifth and he shut them down the rest of the way. He did a great job today."

Offensively, Davis went 2-for-4 with two homers, three RBI and two runs. Rohde was 2-for-4 with a run despite playing with a shoulder injury, and Stockwell had a three-run homer. Wikoff hit his first career triple and every Illini who came to the plate had a hit.

Up Next: Illinois faces No. 4 Iowa in the first game of the Big Ten Tournament, with first pitch set for 11:05 a.m. (CT) on Wednesday at Michigan's Ray Fisher Stadium. The Illini dropped three of four at Iowa in late April, but the one game Illinois won was on the arm of Tanner Roark, Wednesday's likely starter.