Illinois got off to a rocky start to the 2011 season with a 10-6 loss to Pitt today. All ten of Pitt’s runs came in the fifth inning and nine of those runs were with two out.
Illinois rallied for the six runs but obviously that was not enough.
I’m scrambling around looking for a box score. Information is hard to come by. There was no Game Tracker today (and won’t be for the weekend). The best info I’ve found is Pitt’s web site which has an article with a few details.
The Big Ten’s showing so far in the Big East/Big Ten Challenge needs improving. So far we as a conference are 2-5 (there’s still one unaccounted night game between Purdue and Connecticut left). Thank you to Penn State and Michigan State for representin’. They defeated Seton Hall and Norte Dame respectively.
If there is one good side to everything (and I ALWAYS try to look for the good side), it’s that Illinois won their first game in last year’s BE/BT Challenge then proceeded to slump for a good part of the early season. If you believe in superstition or fate, perhaps this won’t befall the Illini this year.
****Just noticed as I’m finishing this up that our guys at FightingIllini.com posted a game wrap-up. It really sounds like things just unraveled in the fifth.***
The Illini take on the Bearcats of Cincinnati tomorrow bright and early at 9:00am.
Go Illini!!