It was cold and breezy at Illinois Field last night but that didn’t stop the hot bats of the Illini as they defeated Michigan State in their Big Ten opener by the score of 10-3.
Illini starter Lee Zerrusen
When Illinois scored a deuce in the first, MSU came back in the second with a pair of their own and Illinois scored three more in third, I thought it was going to be a wild and wooly one between the two. However, MSU’s offense pretty much died right there, scoring only one in fifth. Illinois starter Lee Zerrusen did a fine job controlling the Spartan offense allowing two earned runs in six frames.
The Illinois offense was a different story. The big story is the top three in the lineup. Joe Bonadonna, Casey McMurray and Brandon Wikoff combined for 9 hits, 8 rbis, and 6 runs.
Casey McMurray rounding the bases after his 3-run homer in the 2nd
And yes, Casey McMurray extended his hitting streak to 17 games. Boy, he did it in style in the second inning with a 3-run dinger over the left field fence! And by the way, Brandon Wikoff has his own hitting streak now. With his 3 for 4 performance last night, he’s got a 13 game hitting streak going.
Relievers Aaron Martin and John Anderson held the Spartan offense scoreless for three innings. Martin had a bit of control problems with 3 walks and a wild pitch in two innings but he was able to get out of his jam.
Some more photos (you can see a lot more in the Photo Gallery):
MSU head coach Jake Boss Jr (more on him)
Brandon Wikoff taking a cut
“A little help please?” Bonadonna needs his helmet back.
Today’s game is on at 3:05pm. It’ll be chilly… around 40 degrees. I’ll wear layers. I’ll wear gloves. But I’m NOT getting my winter jacket out again. I refuse.
See you at the ballpark.
Go Illini!