Johnson K's 6 in 8-2 loss to ECU
By: Aaron Bennett
Updated: February 21, 2013
GREENVILLE, N.C. - On
Thursday evening at Clark-LeClair Stadium, Illinois (1-3) dropped its
opening game of the 2013 Keith LeClair Classic by a score of 8-2 to host
East Carolina (1-3). The Illini
scored first but allowed eight runs over the final five innings and
suffered their third-straight loss.
"We had a
combination of things happen today," head coach Dan Hartleb said. "Kevin
threw well early, but when it got late, he started to elevate pitches
and got into some trouble. We gave up a big inning,
so we've got to knock out those to keep games close."
Illinois scored
in the first inning for the second time this season, jumping out to a
1-0 lead on an RBI single by redshirt-junior Jordan Parr. Senior Davis
Hendrickson led off the game with a walk and
stole second before racing home on the Parr grounder through the right
side and sliding around the ECU catcher to beat the tag.
Senior Kevin
Johnson began the game with three scoreless innings but gave up a
two-run home run to ECU third baseman Zach Houchins with two outs in the
bottom of the fourth. Two innings later, the Pirates
put up four runs to knock the Midlothian, Ill., native out of the game
and pin him with his first loss of the year.
An RBI
ground-rule double started the ECU big inning in the sixth, as they took
advantage of a leadoff double. After two walks with two outs, the
Pirates scored another run on a bases-loaded wild pitch
and added two more on a two-run single through the right side to take a
6-1 lead. Redshirt-sophomore Rob McDonnell came on in relief for Johnson
and got the final out of the frame.
Johnson struck
out six over 5.2 innings and increased his career strikeout total to
176, which ranks 10th in school history. He becomes the first Illini to
crack the top-10 list since 2002 when current
Illini pitching coach Drew Dickinson finished his career third overall
with 264 punch-outs. Brett Weber is the all-time leader with 292
strikeouts.
Redshirt-freshman
Charlie Naso took over in the bottom of the seventh and allowed two
runs in his first career appearance, as the Illini fell behind 8-1.
Fellow redshirt-freshman Andrew Mamlic then entered
his first game as an Illini and induced a groundout to finish the
inning. Mamlic stayed in to wrap up the game by tossing a perfect eighth
inning.
"I was very happy
with what Andrew did today," Hartleb said. "We put him in a very tough
situation with the bases loaded, and he found a way to get out of a jam
for us. He then went right at hitters to
get out of the next inning. He threw strikes and competed, so I thought
he did a very nice job for his first time out."
The Illini loaded
the bases with two outs in the top of the ninth and scored their second
run on a wild pitch. The Orange and Blue couldn't keep the rally going,
as a groundout to first ended the game.
Illinois totaled eight hits on the evening, but struck out 11 times.
"From an
offensive standpoint, we struck out too much and didn't put the ball in
play nearly enough," Hartleb said. "We did the same thing last weekend,
so that is something we need to do a much better
job of."
Due to potential
inclement weather in the area this weekend, Illinois is now slated to
play Ohio at 9 a.m. CT on Friday morning. The contest between the Illini
and Bobcats was originally scheduled for noon
CT. The rest of the 2013 Keith LeClair Classic schedule will be revised
based on potential weather forecasts. Illini fans should stay tuned to
www.fightingillini.com and follow @IlliniBaseball
on Twitter for daily updates.
"We need to get a
good pitching performance tomorrow and be more consistent at the
plate," Hartleb said. "We need to swing at balls in the zone and hit the
ball where it's pitched."
