It was a chilly day for baseball but when the sun came out, it wasn’t so bad. The wind blew straight out to center. We were even treated to a smattering of snowflakes in the fifth inning which didn’t amount to anything.
Nonetheless, it was baseball and it was here in Urbana. Judson University made the trip from Elgin, Illinois to help make up some gameage that was lost due to weather (for both teams it turns out).
Craig Lutes celebrates with teammates after hitting a homer in the fourth
Illinois had no trouble scoring on their new home turf. They scored at least two runs each in the first four innings. All told, they managed 20 hits for the game. By the fifth inning, when it was 11-2, Coach Hartleb brought in the reserves so it was a good chance to see the whole team in action.
Kyle Hudson hustles toward third
Kyle Hudson who has been on fire, went 3 for 5 with 2 runs and 2 rbis. That raises his batting average to .490! Joe Bonadonna hit his first triple of the year and contributed 3 rbis for the game. Maybe it’s me but I don’t think that will be his last triple of the season.
RF Craig Lutes hit the only homerun of the game, his second of the year. That was a two-run shot in the fourth. That shot was deep and long going over the centerfield wall. For the game, he was 3 for 4 with 4 rbis.
Starter Mike Stankiewicz
With the big hit-fest going on, we can’t ignore the solid job that Mike Stankiewicz did off the mound. Stanky allowed two runs in 5 innings. He gave up 6 hits but only one walks. Lee Zerrusen came in and pitched two scoreless innings in relief.
Boy, you gotta feel for Eagles’ starter Kyle Kobernus. Eleven runs in four innings. And 100 pitches.
Well, for a home opener it was definitely a way to get off to a good start. it would have been nice to have more people in the stands but between the last minute scheduling, the 3pm game time, and the chilly weather, we probably couldn’t expect too much.
The win puts Illinois at 8-6 and in third place behind Ohio State and Michigan.
By the way… the Tuesday game with Indiana State has been postponed due to weather. They are attempting to re-schedule the game.
There are more photos at the Baseball Zealot Photo Gallery. Check them out!