It was an overcast Tuesday evening at Illinois Field for the home opener, a fitting setting for how the game played out. Sophomore right-hander Ryan Johnson drew the start for the Illini (1-3), but the Butler Bulldogs (2-2) quickly chewed him up.
A leadoff hit by pitch set the tone, and while Johnson got the next two batters out, Butler struck first with an RBI single from graduate student third baseman Alex Christie. Junior second baseman Charlie Schebler followed that up with a two-out double, then senior outfielder Will Burgess brought the two runs in with a single, putting Butler up 3-0.
Hot start leads to manufactured runs
Despite being down, Illinois was able to quickly strike back. After a leadoff walk and a hit by pitch, the Illini were in good position to put runs on the board. They did just that. Graduate student designated hitter Daniel Contreras drove in a run with a single that left runners on the corners.
Junior outfielder Collin Jennings followed that up with another RBI single, then freshman first baseman AJ Putty smacked a double the opposite way, scoring two more for the Illini. Senior outfielder Cole Warehime capped off the first inning with another RBI double, giving Illinois a 5-3 lead.
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Cooling off
Despite a strong opening inning, Illinois’ offense suddenly went cold. Between the second and sixth innings, Illinois managed just one hit, a single in the third inning from Warehime. Head coach Dan Hartleb saw the change in his hitters’ approaches after Butler brought in sophomore right-handed pitcher Max Winders.
“They changed pitchers and bring in a guy that had some ride on the fastball,” Hartleb said. “We continually didn’t get on top of it and start hitting the ball in the air and put up a bunch of zeroes. There’s certain things you have to do to be successful in those middle innings; we did not.”
Early advantage slips away
The top of the second inning saw Illinois give away its lead. A poor three-batter stretch, consisting of a hit by pitch, a single and another hit by pitch from Johnson, loaded the bases with only one out. Sophomore right-handed pitcher Luke Weber inherited the jam but gave up a two-run single to junior outfielder Gavin Gilmore, which tied the game 5-5.
The third inning was worse. Burgess led off with a bang, sending a ball deep to left field over the wall, putting the Bulldogs ahead 6-5. A pair of bunt singles tacked on another run to make it 7-5. A single from junior designated hitter Danny Gavin put runners at the corners, which allowed a follow-up sacrifice fly to make the score 8-5.
There were multiple passed balls and botched bunt-fielding attempts in this game that ultimately led to Butler runs. Hartleb knows this isn’t the formula for winning.
“We need the guys behind the plate to be very consistent on a regular basis,” Hartleb said. “It was a tough day behind the plate, and we probably gave away 5 runs. You can’t do that.”
Too little, too late
Illinois was able to make the game interesting in the final few innings. A clutch two-run single from senior catcher Will Johannes made it a 10-7 game in the bottom of the seventh. In the eighth inning, a pair of singles followed by a walk juiced the bases with two outs for redshirt junior third baseman Kyle Schupmann. The stadium went silent during the full count payoff, which ended in a walk, making the score 10-8.
Despite the drama, Illinois was unable to score in the ninth inning and notched its third loss of the season. Hartleb liked seeing some fight from his team even though they couldn’t come away with the win.
“We had energy in the dugout … late, they were scratching, crawling,” Hartleb said. “We had a couple guys who had great composure late. That was good to see. We just got to quit putting ourselves in bad situations.”
Illinois will try to bounce back on Friday against VCU (3-0). First pitch is scheduled for 10 a.m CST.
