Illinois Baseball lost Saturday night against Notre Dame but rebounded versus West Virginia today to conclude the BIG EAST/Big Ten Challenge down in Florida. I think it would be safe to say that both games were slugfests.
Notre Dame on Saturday
Illinois had a chance to win it against the Fighting Irish. They were up by scores of 3-0 and 7-4 as late as the top of sixth. But in the bottom of the 7th, Notre Dame’s floodgates opened and runs poured in. They scored eight runs that inning, capped by Irish shortstop Jeremy Barnes’ 3-run homer to left. After that, the result was pretty much written on the wall and ND won 14-7.
Illini 3B Dom Altobelli did his part in Saturday’s loss. Altobelli went 2 for 4 including a triple and four ribbies. Casey McMurray and Brandon Wikoff both scored twice.
The pitching? Well, they didn’t fare so well as you would expect with a 14-7 score. I will mention that newcomer Corey Kimes got a chance to throw in the ninth. Kimes is a freshman from Ottawa, IL. In his one inning, he did give up an unearned run but he also struck two batters. I’m hoping for some good things in the future from this hurler.
West Virginia on Sunday
Ok, we had another slugfest on Sunday but this time, it went our way. Behind 18 hits, Illinois plated 17 runs in a 17-10 victory against the Mountaineers of West Virginia.
If you break the game down into thirds, the Illini certainly dominated the middle third. Practically all of their offense came in the 4th, 5th and 6th innings as they scored 15 of their 17 runs in those innings. This came as a result of a six-run 4th inning and a eight-run sixth inning.
Alternatively, WVU used the first and final thirds of game to show their hitting skills. Nine of their 10 runs were scored then.
Fortunately, the Illini made the most of their optimal time. Big hitters for the good guys were Pete Cappetta (3 for 5, 2B, 2 runs, 3 rbis), Joe Bonadonna (2 for 5, 3 rbis), Casey McMurray (2 for 3, 3 runs, rbi) and Aaron Johnson (3 for 5, 2B, 3 runs, 3 rbis)
Series recap
Who came out big over the weekend? Let’s take a look:
Hits: Cappetta, Wikoff, Altobelli – 5
Runs: Wikoff – 6
Rbis – Altobelli – 6
Strikeouts – Martin – 5 (ironically, in a relief role)
Twenty-nine runs in three games tells me our offense is there. I suspect our pitching will come around and I’m continually impressed with Phil Haig’s development.
It’s worth noting that freshman Will Strack got his first career win today against West Virginia.
Congrats to Illinois on a successful weekend!