Ever been to a ballgame where everything just seemed to go right? That pretty much happened Wednesday night as the Illini embarrassed the Butler Bulldogs 19-0.
Tanner Libby makes the most of his first Illini start
First, props go out to starter Tanner Libby who made his first start for the Illini and boy, what an impression he must have made! Libby took care of the Butler nine in short order. In five innings and 51 pitches, he only allows three hits and didn’t give up a walk.
The bullpen was perfect for the four remaining innings. I almost mean that literally. John Anderson, Billy Barrett, Mike Sterk and Corey Kimes who pitched one inning each, only gave up one hit and one walk combined.
Adam Davis takes his homerun trot in the first
Libby was most certainly helped by run support in his first start. The Illini hitters gave him a six run lead by the bottom of the first. Adam Davis keyed this run spurt with a two-run homerun. Davis wasn’t finished for the day… he would hit an rbi triple in the fifth too.
Willie Argo slides into home
Show me a game that Willie Argo doesn’t have some sort of impact and I’ll bet it’s the first Illinois game after he graduates. Tonight, he went 3 for 4 with two runs. And oh yeah, he stole his 34th base.
Matt Cervantes at the plate
With the score becoming increasingly higher, Coach Hartleb eventually brought in some of the second-stringers. The good news is that some of them responded with some good numbers. Pat Sheehan, who spelled Argo in centerfield, hit his first triple of the year… a bases-loaded one in the seventh. Bill Charvat managed to score twice. Daniel Parker doubled in the seventh and scored. Matt Cervantes was able to score once and drive in two runs without the benefit of a hit. Finally, Davis Hendrickson who came in for Casey McMurray went 2 for 2.
To say, that the Illini needed to win this game with the upcoming Ohio State series coming up is an understatement. However, the way they won this game couldn’t have been better and more timely. After the loss to SIU, this will really give the boys some much-needed and much-deserved confidence.
The rest of the photos are here.
Finally, I’ll leave you with this… I caught Josh Parr in mid-air while he was doing a back flip during pre-game practice. Be careful there, Josh!
