Rutgers University
12-9, 2-2
Illinois
11-9, 3-4
Baseball Drops Game One at Illinois
Mar 20 | Baseball
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – Rutgers baseball dropped game one at Illinois by a score of 13-7 on Friday night at Illinois Field.
The Scarlet Knights (12-9, 2-2) were unable to complete the comeback against the Fighting Illini (11-9, 3-4) after falling behind 9-1 in the first inning.
After Peyton Bonds led off the game with a solo home run, Illinois responded with nine runs on nine hits in the bottom half to take control of the game.
RU did its best to chip away, scoring two in the second on a two-run single from Quinten Perilli. Charlie Meglio added a two-run homer in the third to make it 9-5 and Tristan Salinas homered in the fifth to make it a three-run game at 9-6.
Jordan Saviñon delivered a strong outing in relief, finishing the first inning and pitching 4.2 innings of relief, including four straight scoreless frames from the second through the fifth, adding eight strikeouts.
In the bottom of the sixth, the Illini added a pair on a two-run single to make it 11-6.
The teams traded late runs in the eighth on a Meglio sac fly and two-run sac fly for Illinois in the bottom half.
Offensively, Trey Wells contributed a four-hit day, while Meglio and Perilli each collected a pair of hits.
Rutgers will look to bounce back in game two of the series, set for 4 p.m. ET on Saturday afternoon.
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Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Sam Reed (1-0)
L: Harrison, Dallin (2-1)
Batting:
HR: Bonds, Peyton 1 ; Salinas, Tristan 1 ; Meglio, Charlie 1
RBI: Bonds, Peyton 1 ; Salinas, Tristan 1 ; Meglio, Charlie 3 ; Perilli, Quinten 2
SH: Erace, Joey 1
SF: Meglio, Charlie 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Bonds, Peyton 1 ; Salinas, Tristan 2 ; Wells, Trey 1 ; Meglio, Charlie 1 ; Jaros, Ryan 1 ; Krewson, Chase 1
SB: Jaros, Ryan 1
HBP: Jaros, Ryan 2 ; Krewson, Chase 1
Batting:
2B: AJ Putty 1 ; Kyle Schupmann 1
RBI: Jack Zebig 1 ; AJ Putty 5 ; Collin Jennings 2 ; Kyle Schupmann 3 ; Cole Crafton 1 ; J.R. Nelson 1
SH: Jack Zebig 1
SF: Kyle Schupmann 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Nick Groves 3 ; Michael Farina 2 ; Jack Zebig 1 ; Brayden Mazzacano 1 ; AJ Putty 1 ; Collin Jennings 2 ; Kyle Schupmann 1 ; Cole Crafton 1 ; J.R. Nelson 1
SB: Collin Jennings 1
CS: Kyle Schupmann 1
HBP: Jack Zebig 1
