IU tops Illinois in three of four-game series

The IU baseball team rode the strength of three complete games from its starting pitching on the way to taking three of four from the University of Illinois earlier this week. \nThe opening game of the series was delayed two days due to bad weather conditions, forcing the two teams into doubleheaders Sunday and Monday. But the Hoosiers showed no signs of rust when the first pitch was finally thrown Sunday afternoon. They registered four runs on 11 hits en route to a 4-3 victory in the first of a four-game set. Senior Zach Boswell drew a bases loaded walk in the bottom of the ninth to give IU a 4-3 victory. Senior Clint Crosier led the way for the Hoosiers on the mound, pitching his third complete game of the season. The southpaw gave up just seven hits and three runs.\n"The kid competes," IU head coach Tracy Smith said. "He is a great competitor and has been our most consistent starter. This is nothing new."\nIllinois rebounded in game two of the series, as the Illini battled back from deficits of 3-0 and 5-2 en route to a 9-6 victory. \nSenior centerfielder Reggie Watson turned in a nice performance from the plate for IU, going two for three and scoring two runs in the loss. \nIU responded by sweeping the Illini in the doubleheader Monday, winning 5-4 and 2-0 respectively. In the first game of the doubleheader, the Hoosiers relied on another stellar pitching performance and clutch late-inning hitting to beat the Illini for the second time in the series. \nFreshman starter Tyler Tufts improved to 2-3 on the season with his second complete game of the season. Tufts did not allow a run in the final three innings and scattered six hits, one strikeout and only one walk.\nJunior infielder Michael Nilles' RBI single plated sophomore Tyler Cox in the bottom of the sixth for the eventual game-winning run. \n"Their pitcher had thrown three sliders before, so I had seen plenty of them," Nilles said. "He threw another one and I got a good piece of it and it found a hole." \nBut the Hoosiers starters weren't done yet. Sophomore Doug Fleenor pitched a gem in the final game of the series, throwing a complete game shutout for IU. He allowed just five hits and struck out seven over nine innings to lead the Hoosiers to a 2-0 victory. At the plate, Watson continued his solid form when he drove in the winning run with an infield single in the fifth inning. Junior shortstop Keith Haas provided insurance for IU when his two-out single scored speedy freshman right fielder Andrew Means. \nAfter a 5-3 non-conference loss to Ball State Tuesday, IU is 22-30 overall and 11-17 in conference play. But despite the loss to their in-state rivals, IU's recent success gives them a chance to qualify for the Big Ten Tournament. The Hoosiers trail Illinois by two games for the final tournament position. This weekend, IU faces the Minnesota Golden Gophers in the final regular season series of the season. A good performance in Minneapolis will give them a chance to nab a spot in the conference tourney next week. \n"We feel really confident going into this last weekend," Nilles said. "We know we control the rest of the season. If we play well enough, we will play past this weekend"