.png&width=42&height=42&type=webp)
University of Minnesota Athletics
Baseball Drops Game One to Illinois 9-6
4/19/2002 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
Illinois jumped on Molldrem in the first inning, bringing eight men to the plate and scoring five runs. Luke Simmons dropped a bases-clearing double down the right field line, pushing the Fighting Illini up by a score of 3-0. Three batters later, T.F. Meagher hit a double into the right field corner, scoring two more runs and putting Illinois ahead 7-0.
Minnesota scratched its way onto the scoreboard in the lower second. Senior Jeremy Beaulieu bunted over freshman Jake Elder and junior Scott Welch. Then, junior Ben Pattee and sophomore Sam Steidl each knocked in a run, as the Golden Gophers chipped into the Illinois lead at 7-2.
Senior Scott Howard and junior Jon Becker each scored in the third, as the Golden Gophers shaved the margin to 7-4, after three innings.
The Maroon and Gold added another pair in the bottom of the fourth on Kennedy's seventh home run of the season. After Appert roped his second double of the game, Kennedy belted a 0-1 pitch over the center field wall, making the score 7-6.
Illinois got RBI hits from Simmons in the fifth and Joe Parenti in the seventh to pad the lead at 9-6, and that is how the game ended.
Minnesota dropped to 15-19 overall and 7-5 in the Big Ten, while Illinois upped its record to 20-9 overall and a much-needed 6-7 in conference play. The two teams will square off again on Saturday, with the double-header beginning at 1 p.m. CDT.
