Michigan State University
Illinois
Spartan Baseball Splits At Illinois
5/3/2003 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
May 3, 2003
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. - The Michigan State baseball team split a doubleheader against Illinois Saturday afternoon (May 3) at Illinois Field. MSU lost a heartbreaker in nine innings in game one, 5-4, but pulled out a 5-3 win in game two. The Spartans now stand at 16-28 (8-13 Big Ten) for the season, while Illinois is 23-21 (9-14 BT).
Jeff Gerbe (Fr., Shelby Twp.) threw his first career complete game in MSU's 5-3 game two victory. Gerbe gave up three runs on eight hits and got out of a bases loaded jam in the bottom of the seventh to earn the win.
MSU was up 5-2 in the last half of the seventh, but Illinois filled the bases with only out. Two excellent Spartan defensive plays ended the inning as the Illini could only plate one run. A diving stop by James Moreno (Jr., Holt) saved a run as he got the second out at first, while Charlie Braun (Sr., Grosse Pointe) prevented a ground ball from going through the right side to record the third out at first.
MSU scored two runs in the second and three in the fourth. Moreno drove in two runs with a double in the fourth and one in the second with a single. David Miller (Jr., Whitehall) hit his first career triple and knocked in MSU's fifth and final run. Erik Morris (So., Orchard Lake) collected two hits and registered a RBI single in the third.
Two costly Spartans errors were the downfall in MSU's 5-4 extra-inning affair in game one. With the game tied at 4-4 heading into the bottom of the ninth, Illinois first baseman Andy Schutzenhofer led off the inning with a double down the left-field line. The next batter, Trevor Frederickson, laid down a sacrifice bunt right back to Spartan reliever Ryan Golem (Sr., Dearborn), but Golem's throw to first sailed past first base and Schutzenhofer came around third to score the game-winning run.
MSU led 4-3 going into the last half of the seventh, but Illinois responded with a two-out run to send the game into extra frames. The Spartans missed a chance to end the game with a double play as Schutzenhofer hit a one-out ground ball through second baseman Charlie Braun's legs. After a groundout and an intentional walk, Illinois loaded the bases with two outs. Brian Raymond, who only had 10 at bats the entire season, then completed a successful squeeze attempt with a perfect slow-rolling bunt to third to tie the game.
Travis Gulick (So., East Lansing) gave the Spartans a one-run advantage with a towering solo blast over the left-field fence in the top of the seventh. Gulick also hit a solo shot over the scoreboard in left field in the fifth. The rightfielder finished the game 3-for-5 with three runs scored.
Spartan starter Tim Day (So., West Chester, Ohio) pitched another seven-solid innings, only allowing three earned runs while scattering 11 hits, but again came away without a win. Day hasn't given up more than four earned runs in his last six Big Ten outings and has only surrendered 12 earned runs in his last 33 conference innings. However, Day has only one win to his record in Big Ten action.
SPARTAN GAME NOTES:
* Jim Deliz tied a career high with three hits in game one.
* Brady Burrill collected four hits in the first game of the doubleheader. It marks the fifth time in his career he has had four hits in one game.
* Travis Gulick hit two homers in one game for the second time this season. Gulick, who also hit two against Wayne State April 15, has now established a new career high with eight homers. The sophomore cracked six his freshman season.
>GAME SUMMARIES
GAME ONE R H EMSU 101 010 100- 4 14 2ILL 000 102 101- 5 13 0
WP: Smith-ILL (2-1)LP: Golem-MSU (2-2)
GAME TWO R H EMSU 020 300 0- 5 10 0ILL 001 010 1- 3 8 3
WP: Gerbe-MSU (3-2)LP: Ziemba-ILL (5-2)
