Illini Nip Baseball in Both Ends of a Double Dip

Wednesday, March 24

Winter Haven, Fla.

12:00 p.m. (new time)

Dartmouth College

5-6

Illinois

8-8

Illinois

Dartmouth

Illini Nip Baseball in Both Ends of a Double Dip

3/24/2010 2:00:00 PM | Baseball

Box Score 1 Box Score 2

By: Dartmouth

Game 1 Box | Game 2 Box

WINTER HAVEN, Fla. — One day after a six-run ninth fell a run short against 22nd-ranked Ohio State, Dartmouth staged another dramatic rally, this time against Illinois in the second game of a doubleheader. But the five runs in the seventh and final frame ultimately was not enough as the Big Green lost the nightcap, 8-6. The Illini (8-8) won the first game as well after breaking a 3-3 deadlock in the bottom of the sixth, then held off Dartmouth (5-6) for the 4-3 victory.

With its 8-1 lead, Illinois pulled starter Kevin Johnson (1-0) in favor of Brian de la Torriente, who walked three straight hitters before Wes Braun was summoned from the bullpen. He got the first out on strikes, then walked senior Jim Wren with the bags juiced to force in a run. When junior Jeff Onstott followed with an RBI single, John Anderson trotted in from the Illini bullpen. Wildness was an issue with him as well as he walked freshman Zack Bellenger to allow freshman Chris O'Dowd to saunter home from third.

Anderson fanned the next hitter before freshman Ennis Coble came through with a pinch single for another Big Green run. Illinois called upon the lone left-hander on the pitching staff, Corey Kimes, to pitch to left-swinging Sam Bean. Bean worked the count full then fouled off a pitch before drawing the sixth walk of the inning, forcing home another run to put the tying run on second base. When sophomore Jake Carlson took the first two pitches for balls, Dartmouth was primed to tie the score with a base hit. Kimes was able to bear down, however, and get Carlson to foul off two pitches before putting the third strike past him for his second save of the season.

Illinois began the game by scoring a run in the first when Brandon Hohl hit a two-out single to score Casey McMurray, who had doubled. In the second, doubles by Wren and Bellenger tied the game at one.

A three-run third for the Illini gave them the lead for good when Willie Argo tripled home a run, then scored on a wild pitch. After Michael Giller doubled and McMurray singled him to third, Hohl hit into a double play, allowing Giller to make it a 4-1 game.

In the fifth, Hohl singled home Giller, who had led the inning off with a walk then stole second with one out. The Illini tacked on three runs in the seventh and final frame as McMurray, Hohl and Craig Lutes each drove in a run.

Johnson (1-0) earned his first win of the season in five starts by pitching the first six innings, allowing just the one run on six hits while walking two and striking out four. Offensively, Hohl and McMurray were 3-for-4 with the former driving in three runs, while Giller scored three times.

Bellenger was a perfect 3-for-3 at the plate with two RBIs to lead the Dartmouth offense. Suffering the loss on the mound was senior Ben Murray (0-3), who pitched all seven innings while surrendering eight runs on 12 hits with two walks while striking out four.

In the first game of the day with the first pitch at 9:30 a.m., freshman Michael Johnson was able to keep the Illini off the board in the first two innings despite the lead-off hitter reaching base, but could not pull a Houdini act in the third. After Argo and Giller singled to start the frame, McMurray doubled into the left-field corner to send them both across the plate. Illinois then loaded the bases with one out and got a third run on Pete Capetta's fly to right.

In the top of the fourth, Dartmouth responded with two runs of their own. Coble singled sharply up the middle and went to second on a grounder to third. Illinois hurler Will Strack got a strikeout for the second out, but then struggled with his control, walking sophomore David Turnbull before yielding an RBI single to senior Ezra Josephson. Walks to junior Brandon Parks and freshman Chad Piersma forced in the second run.

Coble tied the game in the fifth with a sacrifice fly, scoring Bean who had singled and moved up to third on a pair of wild pitches.

The winning run for the Illini came in the sixth as Davis Hendrickson and Josh Parr singled with one out to put runners on the corners. Argo then hit the first pitch of his at-bat to center for a sacrifice fly.

Onstott hit a one-out pinch double against reliever Bryan Roberts in the seventh and scooted to third on a wild pitch. But when Onstott tried to score on Bean's grounder to first, he was gunned down at the plate. Roberts got the final out on strikes for his first save of the year.

Reliever Mike Sterk (3-0) picked up the win by tossing a perfect sixth in relief of Strack, who yielded all three runs on four hits and three walks in five innings with four strikeouts.

Johnson (0-1) took the loss in his first collegiate start, yielding four runs on nine hits and a walk with two strikeouts in his six-inning complete game. Bean had two of the Big Green's five hits in the game.

Dartmouth begins a three-game series with Bethune-Cookman in Daytona Beach, Fla. tomorrow evening at 6 p.m., while Illinois flies back home before playing at Illinois State on Tuesday, March 30 at 7 p.m. (EDT).