It’s hard to believe with a heavy snowstorm upon us here in Illinois, that I would be following a baseball game today. With the help of CSTV’s Gametracker, that’s exactly what I did as I saw the University of Illinois win their season opener against Sam Houston State at the Al Ogletree Tournament in Edinburgh, Texas.
Offensively, the Illini made the most of little especially at first. With the help of an error, two walks, and a hit batsman plus a Daniel Webb single, Illinois scored two runs in the second inning. The next inning they scored another run on a another Bearcat error, scoring Brandon Wikoff who singled and stole second.
Meanwhile, Scott Shaw was lights out for five innings allowing no runs. However, Shaw ran into trouble in the 6th when he gave up four earned runs. Kevin Manson came in relief.
In the 7th, rbi hits by frosh Casey McMurray and Ryan Hastings made it 5-4. For good measure, Joey Bonadonna scored on a sac fly after the Illini loaded the bases.
Back to Kevin Manson… he closed out the game pitching 3 2/3 innings allowing no runs with 3 strikeouts and got the precious win. Final score Illinois 6 SHSU 4.
I’ll bet the players will be celebrating tonight!
But not too much. They have a early 9am game tomorrow. Here are the details:
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Game #2 |
Sat Feb 23, 9 am |
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Record: 1-0 |
vs Texas State |
at Edinburgh, Tx |
Illinois go from facing the Bearcats to facing the Bobcats of Texas State. It’s their second game of the Al Ogletree Tournament.
| Opponent: | Texas State |
| Nickname: | Bobcats |
| Conference: | Southland Conference |
| Coach: | Ty Harrington (9th year) |
| Location: | San Marcos, Texas |
| Current Record: | 1-0 |
| Baseball Program website: | Link |
| Players to watch: | Thomas Field, Adam Witek |
| Comments: | SS Field was named pre-season Southland Conference First Team and pitcher Mike Hart was named pre season second team. The Bobcats were 37-23 in 2007 and were listed in the Top 100 college teams in a preseason poll. |
Again, their opponent is tough. More importantly, they have a win under their belt, defeating Stephen Austin in a 10 inning game today.
Go Illini!