Critical mistakes, wild pitches, cold weather and flat-out dominance helped lift the Illinois Fighting Illini (3-1) to a commanding 15-3 victory over the Texas State Bobcats (4-1) on Saturday afternoon at Bobcat Ballpark.
“It was just not a good night for us.” Texas State head coach Steven Trout said. “It’s always more fun to win than lose.”
Tyler Schmitt tossed six innings, producing a quality start in the process.
The Bobcats initially held an early 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first as centerfielder Ethan Farris grounded a single to left, plating Zachary Gingrich home following a two-out double. The lead didn’t last long as Illinois quickly tied it 1-1 in the next inning.
It all came crashing down in the top of the third. Starting pitcher Jackson Teer went 2 2/3 innings and gave up four earned runs, bloating his earned run average to 7.11. It didn’t help that shortstop Ryne Farber committed crucial defensive mistakes that kept the inning alive for the Fightin’ Illini. The defending regular season Big Ten champions took advantage and struck a heavy counterpunch that resulted in them batting around and scoring five runs.
“[Illinois] did a great job coming out swinging it,” Trout said.
Designated hitter Austin Eaton gave Texas State a slimmer of hope as he crushed a two-run home run into left field to cut the deficit to 6-3, the first home run of the season for any Bobcat.
However, the offense for the Fighting Illini continued to punish Texas State pitching. Four Illinois batters produced a combined ten runs batted in, with second baseman Greg LaChance driving in four. Jack Zebig capped off the explosive night for the offense by hitting a solo home run in the top of the ninth.
“The biggest key tonight was just things we were really good at for the first four games of the season, we weren’t good at tonight,” Trout said. “It’s cold out here, but [Illinois] played through it as well…they did a better job with it.”
The Bobcats had to dig deep into their bullpen, using eight total pitchers over the course of the game. Illinois’ offense especially dominated when there were two outs, hitting .500 (9-18).
“I liked the things we did early on offensively,” Trout said. “We didn’t respond the right way with our at-bats after we got punched in the nose.”
Texas State will look to bounce back when they play a doubleheader against Illinois on Sunday. Right-handed pitcher Sam Hall will start the first game of the doubleheader, which is slated to commence at noon. Right-handed pitcher Austin Eaton is expected to start the second game, scheduled to start at 4 p.m.
