May 10, 2013
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. - Opening its Big Ten series against the Illini on Friday evening, the Penn State baseball team fell 9-0 to Illinois at Illinois Field. The Nittany Lions (12-32, 3-16 Big Ten) will continue the three-game set against the Fighting Illini (29-15, 10-9 Big Ten) tomorrow, May 11 at 2:05 p.m. ET.
Earning the win for the Illini, freshman Kevin Duchene fired 9.0 scoreless innings with just two hits allowed to improve to a 2.64 ERA. The rookie moves to a 7-1 record on the season, while sophomore Ryan Harper (Texas City, Texas) moves to a 1-3 record with the loss. Harper was relieved by freshman Nick Hedge (Winnetka, Ill.) and junior Tim Dunn (Coto de Caza, Calif.), who combined for 4.1 scoreless innings. Hedge struck out one with one hit allowed, while Dunn allowed two hits with two strikeouts.
Both squads were rendered scoreless until the bottom of the third, with the Illini tallying two runs on a home run from senior Justin Parr. Parr, who extended a 32-game hitting streak, ripped the ball over the right field wall to drive in sophomore Michael Hurwitz for two RBIs and a 2-0 lead. Illinois went on to tally seven runs in the bottom of the fourth, leaving the squad with a 9-0 advantage.
Penn State's bullpen would hold the Illini scoreless for the remainder of the contest, but the Lions were unable to rally back with just two hits tallied in the top of the seventh. Freshman James Coates (Girard, Ohio) collected his 40th hit of the season to lead off the inning, while senior Luis Montesinos (Miami, Fla.) extended his hit streak to three games with his 45th hit on his sixth infield single of the season.
Justin Parr led the Fighting Illini, going 3-for-5 with one home run, three RBIs and two runs scored. Parr's twin brother Jordan Parr collected two hits and a run, while Hurwitz went 3-for-4 with two RBIs, two runs and a double. Rounding out Illinois' top performances, sophomore David Kerian went 2-for-3 with two RBIs and a double, and junior Thomas Lindauer and senior Brandon Hohl each collected one hit, one run and an RBI.
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