The difference was night and day for the Illini. Compared to Friday night’s game against the Indiana, our pitchers pitched well, we had good defense and we kept Josh Phegley at bay (1 for 9, 1 rbi, 1 run).
Ben Reeser was one strike from a shutout
Unfortunately, we only managed to win one game of the doubleheader. Ben Reeser probably had one of his best starts of the season in game one. Ben was one strike away from a complete game shutout when Chris Hervey singled in Tyler Rogers not only giving up the shutout but tying the game at 1-1.
After a scoreless bottom of the ninth, Nick Chmielewski came in relief. Hoosier DH Alex Dickerson bopped one over the fence to put Indiana up for good 2-1.
One bit of disconcerting news… Josh Parr was taken out for the day when he hurt himself running out an infield hit. He sort of slid into first in a painful kind of way. Joe Bonadonna took over at secondbase for the rest of the doubleheader. Here’s hoping that Josh is doing ok.
Game Two started with Illinois scoring first but Indiana put three quick runs on the board in the third making it 3-1. It stood that way till the sixth when Aaron Johnson came up with Dom Altobelli on base. Johnson seems to like baserunners but we Illini fans already knew that. He homered to left centerfield tying the game.
The mood was pretty somber at Illinois Field after the first game and wasn’t getting any better for most of early part of the second. When Johnson hit his homer a definite mood shift for the better was pretty apparent. You could feel the electricity.
Pete Cappetta was a hero of the second game
It was in the eighth inning when the Illini pulled ahead for good. Casey McMurray led off the inning with a double. Dom Altobelli followed it up with a walk. One out later, Matt Dittman’s base knock drove McMurray home to pull Illini ahead. Pete Cappetta’s base hit then pushed Altobelli safely home for a more comfortable lead.
Starter Bryan Roberts wasn’t perfect but actually pitched pretty well. He allowed just three runs in six innings. Will Strack, who came out of nowhere to shut out Michigan State last weekend, was the victim of one bad pitch to DH Alex Dickerson (yes, him again). Otherwise, he was practically perfect only allowing just one other hit in 3 innings for the win.
Leaving Illinois Field, judging by the fans’ rejoicing, you would have thought we swept Indiana.
Everyone eventually safe on this play if you can believe it.
More photos on the Photo Gallery. Make sure you check out the series of photos where Casey McMurray is seemingly caught in a rundown and somehow his and Brandon Wikoff’s fancy footwork get them off scot free. I honestly don’t know how they did it.
That’s all for now. Thanks Illini for the win