University of Illinois had their hitting shoes on Tuesday as they scored 11 runs and beat Western Michigan. The offense included 3 home runs by Lars Davis, Nick Stockwell, and Ryan Hastings.
Davis, who went 4 for 5 with 4 ribbies, raised his season average to .478, good enough to lead the Big Ten. He’s in a dogfight with Mike Mee of Minnesota who’s hitting .476. Mee hasn’t had a chance to up his average lately since his last couple games have been postponed. Davis has six homers to go with his impressive average.
Over the weekend, Illinois kissed their sister against Purdue. They won Friday night and the first game of the double header on Saturday. Scott Shaw pitched a complete game and went to 3-1. Mike Stankewitz pitched another complete game for game 2 but the good guys lost a heartbreaker 2-1.
Finally on Sunday, the Illini had the lead but couldn’t hold on as Purdue won 11-6.
Through Tuesday, Ryan Snowden has extended his hitting streak. He has now hit in 19 straight games going back to last season. He’s hitting .393 for the 2007 season.
Coming up:
This weekend brings Ohio State at home. Ohio State has traditionally been tough and this year is no exception. The Buckeyes are 17-4 (3-1 conf). The nights have been wicked cold so I suppose that could be a factor. I’m planning on attending Friday’s game.
Go Illini!!
Update: Looks like Friday’s game is canceled because of the cold. That means doubleheaders on Saturday and Sunday.
Another update: Or maybe not. Looks like Saturday’s games have been canceled because of the cold. These games will NOT be made up. As of now, Sunday’s doubleheader is still on. I better check that to be sure… yes, as of Saturday afternoon, they are still on. Sunday afternoon’s forecast calls for partly sunny and 42 degrees.
I’m up for a ballgame. Let’s play two.