Michigan State University
Illinois
Spartans Split Doubleheader at Illinois
4/23/2011 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
April 23, 2011
Game One Box Score | Game Two Box Score
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. - The Michigan State baseball team split a doubleheader Saturday afternoon at Illinois, taking game one, 8-5, before falling in game two, 5-2. The Spartans now stand at 24-11 (7-4 Big Ten), while the Fighting Illini are 13-21 (5-6).
Second baseman Ryan Jones extended his hitting streak to 24 games after going 3-for-4 in the front of the doubleheader and then getting a single in the eighth inning of game two.
In the 8-5 game one victory, senior Kurt Wunderlich improved to 7-1 on the season, as he scattered eight hits and allowed five runs in seven innings of work. It marked Wunderlich's 23rd win of his career, which now ties him for third in Michigan State history along with Larry Ike and Brian Wolcott.
Wunderlich had an early lead to work with after the Spartans scored three runs in the first and one in the second to go up 4-0.
Back-to-back singles from Brandon Eckerle and Jones led off the game, and following a Jeff Holm groundout that moved the runners along to second and third, Torsten Boss doubled them in. A Joel Fisher infield single then brought home Boss to make it 3-0.
In the second, Holm delivered an RBI single, giving MSU a 4-0 advantage.
Illinois rallied back with four runs in the bottom of the fourth to tie the game at 4. Wunderlich surrendered a two-run double by Adam Davis and a two-run homer by Willie Argo in the inning.
Fisher hit the second of his three doubles to lead off the fifth, and came around to score on a sacrifice fly from Scanlon. Fisher finished game one with a career-high four hits.
The Spartans broke the game open with three runs in the top of the seventh. Consecutive doubles by Hook and Fisher started the inning and knocked out Illini starter Kevin Johnson (2-4). Fisher then scored the second run of the inning on a wild pitch, and a Jones RBI single plated Scanlon to give MSU the 8-4 lead.
The Fighting Illini scored its final run of the game in the bottom of the seventh, but scoreless innings thrown by Tim Simpson in the eighth and Bryce Jenney in the ninth sealed the victory for MSU. For Jenney, it was his team-leading fifth save of the season.
In the 5-2 game two loss for Michigan State, Illinois bounced back from a 2-0 deficit to score one run in the sixth and four in the seventh for the comeback win.
The Spartans were held to just six hits as Illini starter John Anderson (4-5) tossed a complete game for his fourth victory of the season. Anderson struck out four and didn't walk a single batter in his nine innings of work.
MSU broke a scoreless tie in the fourth as Holm hit his team-leading fifth homer of the season to right center. Tony Wieber made it 2-0 in favor of the Spartans with an RBI double in the fifth.
Spartan starter Tony Bucciferro (6-2) allowed just one hit and was cruising through his first five innings, but an RBI groundout in the sixth gave Illinois its first run and trimmed the lead to 2-1.
The bottom of the seventh proved to be the difference in the game, as Illinois chased Bucciferro with four runs and five hits in the inning. Adam Davis led off with an inside-the-park homer to center field, and after two straight singles, Wieber came in from right field to pitch. The Illini quickly got to Wieber, as the sophomore gave up a two-run double to Willie Argo and then a single to Davis Hendrickson. A sacrifice fly brought home Argo on the next at-bat, pushing the Illinois lead to 5-2. Although MSU got out of the inning with a double play, the damage was done.
Anderson did the rest, keeping MSU off the board in the eighth and ninth in his third complete game of the season.
MSU and Illinois played a doubleheader on Saturday after rain in the Greater Champaign-Urbana Area postponed Friday night's game.
The series finale is set for Sunday at 2:05 p.m. ET at Illinois Field. Live video of the game will be available for purchase at BigTenNetwork.com, while live stats will be available at msuspartans.com.
