Illinois baseball takes first two games against Indiana
April 18, 2015
Make that 13 wins in a row for the Illinois baseball team.
Illinois (32-6-1, 10-1 Big Ten) relied on timely hitting and a strong pitching performance to pick up a 6-3 win over Indiana (21-15, 5-8) on Saturday at Illinois Field. The Illini now have the the longest active winning streak in the country, and their fourth straight Big Ten series win to start conference play.
It was a sloppy first inning for Illinois. Two errant throws allowed the Hoosiers to capture a 2-0 lead to start the game. The Illini promptly answered back with a four-run rally in the bottom of the first to take the lead for the first and final time. Senior first baseman David Kerian delivered what would be the game-winning hit with a triple down the right field line that drove in two.
Four runs proved to be all starting pitcher Drasen Johnson needed. After the rough first inning, Johnson settled in and notched his second complete game of the season. The 6-foot-4 senior struck out six and walked one in his sixth win of the year.
“Our guys are just composed,” head coach Dan Hartleb said. “They don’t panic in any situation. Drasen’s the one who did a great job because things weren’t going well, but he continued to pitch. That’s a veteran club.”
Get The Daily Illini in your inbox!
The game was relatively quiet until the sixth inning when Indiana plated another run to make it a 4-3 ballgame. Like they did in the first, the Illini answered in the bottom of the inning with a two-out rally that ended with a double by Ryan Nagle to plate two more runs and give Illinois a 6-3 lead heading into the seventh.
All six of Illinois’ runs came with two outs and were scored by six different players. Sophomore outfielder Pat McInerney, who went 4-for-4 with an RBI and a run on Saturday, spoke on the importance of two-out hitting.
“It’s demoralizing when you get two-out runs scored on you,” McInerney said. “We know that and we try to do that.”
The victory is Illinois’ 16th comeback win this season, which Hartleb attributes to having a veteran squad.
“Our guys understand that it’s a long game,” Hartleb said. “One inning or one pitch doesn’t make the difference in the long run. You just have to grind it out.”
Illinois will look for its 14th consecutive win and a series sweep of Indiana on Sunday afternoon.
@joeyfigueroa3
