Four hits by first baseman Ryan Hastings helped Illinois put down the Kansas Jayhawks 11-9 on Wednesday. Aside from going 4 for 4, Hastings clubbed a homer and a double with 3 runs and 2 rbis. Kyle Hudson, Joe Bonadonna and Brandon Wikoff all contributed 2 hits apiece.
It was was a close victory though. Illinois had a 10-2 lead by the 6th when the Jayhawks battled back with three runs in the 7th and two runs in the eighth and ninth. Ben Reeser came on in the ninth to get the last out for the save.
Thursday, the Illini were scheduled to take on University of Northern Iowa but the game was canceled due to weather. The game will not be re-scheduled.
Today, the good guys played a doubleheader against Central Connecticut State. Game One went to CCSU 8-7 despite Illinois rallying from an 8-2 deficit. Kyle Hudson contributed 3 rbis.
Game Two was another one-run game that went Illinois’ way. Scott Shaw pitched a complete game win with Kyle Hudson (his name seems to be making his way into the highlights a lot isn’t it), frosh Casey McMurray and Brandon Wikoff all getting two hits. More details at CCSU’s baseball website.
Coming Up
With that win, that puts the Illini at 7-6 for the season. Not bad, considering that they started out 2-4. With the tiring spring break schedule over, they get a slight rest. The Illini’s schedule takes a turn now and they start playing up north. On March 25, they play a midweek non-conference game against Indiana State. Next weekend, they play an honest-to-goodness Big Ten conference game at Michigan State.
Our first home game? April 2 against St Louis. We don’t play a conference game at home till we play Michigan on April 11.
Go Illini!!