Michigan State University
Illinois
Spartan Baseball Defeats Illinois, 9-3
5/2/2003 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
May 2, 2003
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. - Junior right-hander Bryan Gale (Decatur) retired the first 16 batters of the game and only allowed two hits in seven innings of work as the Michigan State baseball team defeated Illinois, 9-3, Friday night (May 2) at Illinois Field. MSU improved to 15-27 (7-12 Big Ten) with the win, while the Illini fell to 22-20 (8-13 BT).
Gale (6-5) faced the minimum of 21 batters in his seven innings and stuck out seven. Both Illini that reached base - one in the sixth and one in the seventh - were out on a double play the next batter. With the victory, Gale won his 23rd career game and moved into a three-way tie for second place on the all-time MSU wins chart.
MSU broke the game open with five runs in the fourth and two in the fifth to build an 8-0 lead. The Spartans tagged Illini starter Ted Rowe (3-5) for eight runs and 10 hits in 4 1/3 innings of work. Erik Morris (So., Orchard Lake) and James Moreno (Jr., Holt) each had RBI singles in the fourth.
Several Spartans shined offensively, including Scott Koerber (Jr., Harper Woods), who collected three doubles; Morris, who went 3-for-5; and Moreno, who produced two hits and hit his third homer of the season.
MSU and Illinois return to action with a doubleheader tomorrow (Saturday, May 2) at Illinois Field beginning at 4:05 p.m. CDT.
GAME SUMMARY
R H EMSU 001 520 001- 9 13 1ILL 000 000 030- 3 6 2
WP: Gale-MSU (6-5)LP: Rowe-ILL (3-5)
