ILLINI DOWN PANTHERS AT UTPA/AL OGLETREE CLASSIC

EDINBURG, TX—Illinois took an early eight-run lead and defeated Prairie View A&M, 13-0, in the fifth game of the UTPA/Al Ogletree Classic at the Edinburg Baseball Stadium Sunday afternoon.

The Illini took a 1-0 lead in the top of the first inning on a leadoff double by right fielder Vince DiMaria and an RBI single by catcher Chris Robinson. Illinois tallied seven more runs in the second. Second baseman Brian Raymond walked with the bases loaded to drive in the first run, another crossed on an error, Robinson’s sacrifice fly accounted for a third, left fielder Drew Davidson drove in two with a bases-loaded single, and designated hitter Chad Frk knocked in the final two with a double.

Illinois added a run in the seventh on Frk’s RBI single, and scored four more times in the eighth, once on a double by Robinson, and three more times on pinch-hitter Sean Patrick’s double with the bases loaded.

Reilly Smith, the second Illinois pitcher, pitched two scoreless innings to earn the victory and improve to 2-0. Marcus Lewis went all the way for Prairie View and took the loss, falling to 2-3.

The Illini improved to 6-1 with their victory, and finished as the tournament champions, with a perfect 3-0 record in the tournament. PVAMU dropped to 5-24, and finished fourth in the tournament with an 0-3 mark.

The tournament will conclude with a game between the Broncs and Iona Sunday night.

ILLINI DOWN PANTHERS AT UTPA/AL OGLETREE CLASSIC

BA-47-03031603