ELON, N.C. – Down 8-2 in the eighth, a Jack Roberts' grand slam helped Elon University baseball get to within a run, but Illinois held on for the 8-7 final Sunday afternoon, March 8 at Latham Park.
 
"That inning was exactly what we talk about with our guys all the time in terms of being able to score runs without having to swing," said head coach Mike Kennedy. "Fighting off some pitches, working some counts, and winning at bats. We drew some walks in that inning, but we had some really good at bats to get those walks. When you do that, you put some stress on the other team and then their guys serves one up and Jack hits a big home run. But offensively we have preached and preached that we have to work counts, go deep in counts, and make them earn it. It doesn't always end up with a hit, but certainly at the end of the day you're working guys and putting pressure on them. Man what an inning that was to stay in it. You've got to keep the fight and stay with it. We could've easily rolled over today, but we battled at the plate and had that type of an inning that let us get back in it and Jack comes up big for us."

AT THE PLATE
Roberts went 1-for-3 at the plate with the home run, a walk, and four RBI. Anthony Galason and Adam Spurlin also finished 1-for-3 on the day, while Joe Satterfield and Alex Iadisernia each had one RBI. 

ON THE MOUND
Ian Evans falls to 0-4 after allowing five runs (four earned) on five hits and two walks. The freshman recorded two strikeouts in a 1.1 inning start. Trevor Kirk tossed 4.2 innings in relief and gave up three runs on four hits. He did not issue a walk, also struck out a pair, and retired the first 12 batters he faced in order. Sean O'Connell, Andrew Tovsky, and Joe Sprake all made appearances.

THE RUNDOWN
Iadisernia got the offense started for the Phoenix (7-9) in the first. The freshman drew a leadoff walk, stole second, and advcanced to third on a wild pitch. After a Jarret Pico walk, Iadisernia came home on a Satterfield ground out to third as Elon took the 1-0 lead. However, the Fighting Illini (8-5) answered with five runs on four hits and two errors in the second. With runners on the corners, an Elon error allowed the guests to pull even at 1-1. A hit to left then gave UIUC the lead, 2-1. A failed pickoff attempt at second moced runners into scoring position, and a wild pitch allowed another run to come in and the trail runner to take third. Later, a hit back up the middle plated runners from second and third for the 5-1 advantage. The Phoenix got a run back in the bottom of the second as Iadisernia walked with the bases loaded.

Neither side scored again until Illinois hung up a three-spot in the seventh. The leadoff man singled through the left side and swiped second, then came around on a hit to right. A second hit to right placed runners on the corners before a wild pitch brought in another run. With the trail runner on second, a fly out to right moved him to third and a ground out to first gave the Illini the 8-2 edge.

In the eighth, Pico, Satterfield, and Galason drew three straight walks to force an Illinois call to the pen. Oldham then reached on an error by the new reliever as one run came in. Roberts then crushed the first pitch he saw over the wall in right to bring everyone home with one swing of the bat. Elon had the tying run at third as Willie Havens walked and was pinch ran for by Tyler Stanley. The senior stole second and took third on a wild pitch, but Illinois recorded the third out to finally stop the bleeding. Down to its last three outs, Elon couldn't get a runner on as the Illini retired the side in order.

NOTES
-Tovsky made his first appearance of the season.
-It was the first long ball of the season for Roberts and just the second of his career. His first was a three-run blast in a series-opening win at Towson last season.
-The grand slam is the first for the Phoenix since Stanley hit one in the second inning of the series finale at Towson last year.
-Illinois earned the series win, 2-1.

UP NEXT
Elon travels to Greenville, N.C. this Tuesday, March 10 for a second meeting with East Carolina (12-3). First pitch at Clark-LeClair Stadium is set for 6:30 p.m.