NCAA baseball action concluded Saturday night with a pair of Bit 10 teams from the state of Illinois as both the Illinois Fighting Illini and Northwestern Wildcats managed wins on the day.
Illini 12, Delta Devils 4
The Illini offensive proved merciless against the Miss Valley St Delta Devils (6-22), giving the Illini (14-10) an impressive 12-4 win. 1B Jordan Parr cracked a pair of extra base hit as he went 2 for 4 with a double, a triple and three runs batted in. INF Thomas Lindaur (2 for 2 with 3 walks) and CF Argo Willie (3 for 5) gave the opposing pitchers fits as well.
Altogether, the Illini piled on 10 runs within the first three innings. And for merely surviving 5.0 innings, SP Josh Ferry (W, 2-1) gets the win, but the bullpen -- which added four scoreless innings -- pitched well too, allowing no hits, no runs and 4 walks.
The Illini close out their series against Mississippi Valley State at 12:00 p.m. CDT on Sunday.
Wildcats 8, Cornhuskers 4
An early lead from the Northwestern Wildcats (9-15, 2-3 Big Ten) allowed them to cruise to victory against fellow Big Ten team, the Nebraska Cornhuskers (19-10, 3-2 Big Ten).
SP Brandon Magallones started for the Wildcats, pitching an impressive 8.0 innings while striking out 10, walking 1, and allowing 3 runs on 4 hit. The 6'3" freshman was the beneficiary of four errors from Cornhuskers SS Chad Christensen (who also struck out three times). Altogether, errors from Christensen (4) and 3B Kurt Farmer (2) led to a whopping 8 unearned runs for the Wildcats, who were winning 8-1 but the end of the 6th inning.
The Wildcats finish their three game series against Nebraska on Sunday with first pitch slated for 1:00 p.m. CDT.
Stay tuned to SB Nation Chicago for more on Illini baseball throughout the season. For more on the Illini check out Hail to the Orange.
