Stephen F. Austin
Illinois
Late-Inning Heroics Push 'Jacks Past Illini
3/1/2008 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
March 1, 2008
WACO, Texas - Matt Whatley hit a three-run home run in the top of the ninth to give SFA the lead and Kai Kirby gunned down Dominic Altobelli at the plate with two outs in the ninth to give SFA its first come-from-behind win of the season in dramatic fashion, 8-7, over Illinois in the second round of the QTI Baylor Classic on Saturday.
Illinois (2-3) had just taken the lead in the bottom of the eighth, but reliever Nick Chmielewski gave up a one-out double to Zach Gardner, followed by a walk to Jeff Brewer, setting the stage for Whatley. He then took Chmielewski over the right-field fence on the first pitch he saw for his second home run of the tournament and his third of the season, giving SFA (4-3) the lead 8-6 going to the bottom of the ninth.
The Illini then attempted a rally of their own against `Jacks closer Richard Folmer, beginning with Daniel Webb's leadoff single. John Schlichter would follow with a walk, and Nick Stockwell moved up the runners with a sacrifice bunt to make it a second-and-third situation with only one out. Folmer then buckled down on the No. 8 hitter, Joe Bonadonna, who struck out on a check swing to put SFA one out away from victory. Center fielder Kyle Hudson then lined a Folmer pitch into right field, where Kai Kirby played the ball on one hop and fired a strike to Whatley at the plate where he was able to get Altobelli out at the plate after he tried to score from second.
The win avenged an 11-6 loss to the Illini at the Baylor Classic last season and is SFA's first-ever win over a Big 10 team.
SFA threatened in the top half of the first after Gardner led off with a single, eventually making it all the way to third; however, after Kevin Croft reached after being hit by a pitch, he was caught in a rundown in an attempted steal between first and second to end the inning.
Illinois would then crack the scoring column in the bottom half after Ryan Hastings singled off of `Jacks starter Heath Konesheck, scoring leadoff man Ryan McMurray to make it 1-0 Illini. It looked as though things might get worse for SFA as the Illini had runners at second and third with only one out, but Konesheck was then able to get Daniel Webb to ground in to a two-hop double-play to Croft at third base to get SFA out of the jam.
The `Jacks went down 1-2-3 in the second inning before Illinois got things going again in the bottom of the inning. The Illini used a pair of infield singles in addition to a walk to load the bases before Brandon Wikoff delivered the big hit of the frame by lining a two-out, 1-2 pitch by the outstretched glove of Croft down the left-field line for a double that scored a pair of runs and gave Illinois a 3-0 lead through two.
Konesheck put himself in a jam in the fourth inning, hitting three batters in a row after retiring the first two hitters of the inning. Fortunately, he was able to get Illini cleanup hitter Aaron Johnson to ground out to Croft to make it out of the inning unscathed and keep SFA within striking distance with a three-run deficit.
SFA took advantage of that good fortune in the top of the fifth, scoring four runs after the first four `Jacks reached base to start the frame. Adam Bosley instigated the rally with a sharp single off into right of Illini starter Mike Stakiewicz, then Noel Trevino followed that by taking a 1-1 pitch over the left-field fence for his second home run of the season to make the score 3-2.
Kirby immediately followed that by launching a double into the left-field gap to keep the pressure on. Gabriel Garcia-Serrano then tried to sacrifice Kirby to second, and SFA got some good luck when Illini third baseman John Schlichter hurried the throw and fired the ball into the SFA dugout, allowing Kirby to score and Garcia-Serrano to advance to second. Two batters later, designated hitter Jeff Brewer actually bunted the ball over the head of the first baseman Hastings for a single and Whatley followed with an infield hit of his own to plate his first of a game-high four RBI giving SFA a 4-3 lead.
Both teams pitching would hold firm though, until the `Jacks broke through again in the top of the eighth when Kevin Crabtree crushed his second home run of the season, a solo shot, to center field to give the `Jacks a two-run pad.
However, SFA's new lead would be short lived after Illinois scored three, two-out runs in the bottom of the eighth. It looked as though `Jacks reliever Erik Gregersen, who had been nearly untouched through 2.2 innings, would get out of the inning despite giving up a one-out single when he got Joe Bonadonna to fly out to center field for inning's second out. But Illinois would put together four consecutive singles to steal the lead away from SFA at 6-5. McMurray had the biggest of those hits, a fly ball to right field that came out of the glove of a diving Kai Kirby and scored a pair of runs to tie it. After McMurray stole second, Brandon Wikoff gave Illinois the lead with a single through the right side to give them their final lead of the afternoon.
Folmer picked up his second win in as many appearances, pushing his record to 2-1 on the season, while Chmielewski took the loss for the Illini.
Gardner finished with a 3-for-5 afternoon, marking the third time in four games that he has picked up multiple hits. Overall, the `Jacks had five hitters record multiple hits against the Illini.
SFA concludes the QTI Baylor Classic on Sunday, taking on No. 13 Baylor at 3:00 p.m. The `Jacks then return home for a Monday game against Dallas Baptist, followed by a four-game set against Sacred Heart at Jaycees Field beginning on Thursday.
-SFA-
