In the first game of the Nike College Showcase, Kevin Johnson outlasted Alex Keudell in an old fashioned pitcher’s duel as the Illini defeated #18 Oregon 2-1. In all, there were 10 hits by both teams. Johnson pitched a 4-hit complete game to get his second win in as many weeks.
Oregon got off to a 1-0 lead in the second inning off of back-to-back doubles. The Illini tied the game two innings later. Would it surprise anyone if I told you Jordan Parr was involved in the mix? After a walk and wild pitch and a Parr single, Davis Hendrickson drove home the tying run on a fielder’s choice.
It was Jordan Parr again in the sixth who was key in bringing home the winning run. After Reid Roper singled, Parr tripled to score him. That was Parr’s 12th rbi of the year.
That was all Kevin Johnson needed. Illinois won 2-1. Johnson is now 2-1 with a nifty 3.13 ERA.
A Lesson Learned about Polls
I learned a little about collegiate polls this morning. For example, the U of I DIA uses the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association poll numbers which is why my numbers didn’t jive with the fightingillini.com press releases. There are good reasons why the DIA uses this poll… mostly because of a larger voting pool. It doesn’t hurt that Illinois is a voting member of the NCBWA.
So from now on, I’ll be using the NCBWA poll numbers.
Next Up
It’s a busy day for the boys. Two games on the docket. They travel about an hour to Corvallis, Oregon to play Connecticut at 1 pm. John Kravetz gets the call.
Tonight, Illinois faces host #22 Oregon State and all their fans as Matt Milroy is on the mound. Milroy has been tough out of the bullpen as of late and Hartleb want to give him a chance out of the starting gate.
Go Illini!!