Illini eliminate Titans before falling to Stanford
June 6, 2011 8:59 AM
Senior first baseman Matt Dittman knocked in the go-ahead run with an eighth-inning single and sophomore right fielder Davis Hendrickson doubled home two more runs as Illinois held on for a 7-5 win over top-seeded Cal State Fullerton to eliminate the host Titans from the NCAA Tournament's Fullerton Regional on Sunday. The Illini then ran out of gas against second-seeded Stanford as the Cardinal scored nine runs in its last five times to the plate to win the Fullerton Regional with a 14-2 victory in the evening's championship game. Stanford will advance to face No.3 national seed North Carolina, which cruised through the Chapel Hill Regional, in next weekend's super regional round.
"We had a great game against Cal State Fullerton," Illinois head coach Dan Hartleb said. "What a quality program that is. We got some big hits and made some big plays. I'm proud of how we performed. I thought our guys competed really hard against Stanford but we ran out of pitching and the game kind of got away from us. I'm proud of what we've done."
The Illini finish 2011 with a 30-27 overall record and by making their first NCAA Tournament appearance since 2000. Illinois went 2-2 in the Fullerton Regional, marking the fourth time out of nine appearances that the Orange and Blue have won at least two games in the NCAA Tournament. The Illini also won the Big Ten regular-season title for the first time since 2005 and the Big Ten Tournament for the first time since 2000. Illinois finished the season having won 11 of its last 14 games and 18 of its last 24 after starting the season 12-21, one of the most incredible turnarounds in Illinois baseball history.
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"We had a great game against Cal State Fullerton," Illinois head coach Dan Hartleb said. "What a quality program that is. We got some big hits and made some big plays. I'm proud of how we performed. I thought our guys competed really hard against Stanford but we ran out of pitching and the game kind of got away from us. I'm proud of what we've done."
The Illini finish 2011 with a 30-27 overall record and by making their first NCAA Tournament appearance since 2000. Illinois went 2-2 in the Fullerton Regional, marking the fourth time out of nine appearances that the Orange and Blue have won at least two games in the NCAA Tournament. The Illini also won the Big Ten regular-season title for the first time since 2005 and the Big Ten Tournament for the first time since 2000. Illinois finished the season having won 11 of its last 14 games and 18 of its last 24 after starting the season 12-21, one of the most incredible turnarounds in Illinois baseball history.
fightingillini.com
Filed under: Illini Baseball
