The fourth time wasn’t a charm for Illinois at the UTA/Hilton Invitational as they lost a close one to Texas-Arlington 6-5. The Illini fought hard in this one… they were behind 5-0 before they put together a five-run rally to tie the game. A sac fly by the Mavs in the bottom of eighth sealed it for UTA.
The Illini return home after winning three of four at the Invitational and upping their record to 7-4.
| Game #11 / March 3, 2013 | ||||
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UTA got off to a good start in Sunday’s game scoring five unanswered runs off starter John Kravetz. By the top of the seventh, it was still 5-0 and that was when the Illinois bats woke up. Nine batters came to the plate that inning as they rallied. Consecutive singles by Thomas Lindauer, Brandon Hohl, Reid Roper and Ryan Nagle followed by a two-run double by Michael Hurwitz was enough to tie the game.
Even with the momentum behind them, the Illini didn’t win. A sac fly in the eighth inning by the Mavericks proved to be the winning run. Rob McDonnell got the hard luck loss.
Hurwitz, Hohl and Roper ended up with 2 hits in the game.
Random Ramblings
I was intensely watching GameTracker on my tablet during the 7th inning and probably startling my family when each of those five runs crossed the plate. “Yess!” GameTracker is indeed a unique experience.
Jordan Parr and Justin Parr both went 0 for 4 today, breaking both of their 10 game hitting streaks. They seem to do everything together. Still a fantastic series for both of them. Thomas Lindauer (left) led all Illini going 7 for 15 (.467) for the weekend.
By the way, it’s less than 3 weeks till the home opener (and Big Ten opener) against the Nebraska Cornhuskers on March 22. Put it on your calendar!
Next up: Next weekend, it’s another trip to the Lone Star State. The Illini will take on Baylor for three games in Waco, Texas. Friday’s game time is scheduled for 6:35pm.
Great weekend, Illini!