Michigan State University
Illinois
Seven-Run Third Inning Propels Spartans Past Illini, 13-2
5/19/2006 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
May 19, 2006
EAST LANSING, Mich. - Michigan State erupted for seven runs in the third inning, beating Illinois, 13-2, Friday afternoon at Kobs Field. Every MSU batter recorded at least one hit in the victory, improving the Spartans' record to 25-28 and 12-17 in conference play. With three games to go in the series and the regular-season, the win also keeps MSU in the hunt for a final seed in the six-team Big Ten Tournament. Michigan State and Illinois will meet again on Saturday, with a doubleheader scheduled for 1:00 p.m. Both games will be televised live on Comcast.
"We have one game down and three to go," MSU head coach David Grewe stated. "Our focus is to come out and play one game at a time this weekend - it is going to be very important for us to do that. Today was a great, great victory for our program. We have to keep the intensity all weekend."
Sean Walker gave the Spartans a one-run lead in the second inning, hitting his third home run of the season, a well-hit solo shot over the left field fence.
Blowing the game open in the third, Michigan State used three walks and six hits to score seven runs. The Spartans batted through the lineup and then some, stepping to the plate a total of 12 times during the inning. Troy Krider, E.J. Daws and Kyle Day each collected one RBI, while Alan Cattrysse and Oliver Wolcott drove in two runs apiece.
Illinois (27-26, 13-16) cut the lead to 8-2 in the top of the fourth, but Ryan Basham got a run back with a solo home run in the home at bat, crushing his team-leading eighth homer of the year. The Spartans added a run in the fifth inning, to push the lead back to eight, when Daws singled up the middle to score Cattrysse,
MSU put three more runs on the board in the eighth. Krider reached after being hit by a pitch and advanced to third on a single by Steve Gerstenberger. Kyle Day tallied an RBI on a sacrifice fly, scoring Krider. Gerstenberger later came across on an error and Cattrysse made it a 13-2 final with his game-high third RBI of the day.
Right-handed starter Craig Brookes used a variety of pitches to foil the Illini offense. Working 7.2 innings, Brookes allowed just two runs on 12 hits and stranded 11 Illini runners on base, tallying five strikeouts. Left-handed reliever Spencer Hahn was also impressive out of the pen, recording two of the final four outs on strikeouts. With the win, Brookes improved to 2-4 on the season.
"Brookes has kept us in games all year and today we were able to give him some run support," Grewe said. "He has a rubber arm - he can give us eight or nine innings every game. When he hits his spots with his off-speed pitches, he really puts us in a position to win.
Cattrysse paced the attack at the plate for the Spartans, going 3-for-5 with three RBI. Gerstenberger, Basham and Daws each had two hits apiece as the Green and White pounded out 14 hits.
Aaron Martin (1-2) was handed the loss for Illinois, allowing eight runs on six hits in just 2.2 innings pitched.
