Six earned runs, five walks and seven hits into Friday’s Big Ten opener at Penn State, Illinois starter Kevin Johnson walked off the mound with what may be his finest outing of the season.
“Honestly that’s probably the best outing I’ve seen him have,” junior center fielder Willie Argo said. “They got six runs in the first inning and they weren’t cheap either. He was getting shelled.”
What had Argo and teammates glowing at the end of the seemingly dismal outing was that despite a nightmarish first inning in which the sophomore right-hander yielded six runs on six hits, Johnson had rebounded to dazzle the Nittany Lions (17-8) over the final five and two-thirds innings of his outing. With the exception of a sixth-inning infield single by 5-7 speedster Blake Lynd, Johnson held the powerful Penn State offense to no runs on no hits to the outfield in a turnaround that impressed the likes of Argo and head coach Dan Hartleb.
“He came back after (the first inning) and just took it right to them and that was awesome for him to keep it right there,” Argo said, emphasizing he was impressed with the way the sophomore hurler “dominated” in what may be the rebound performance of the season for the Illini.
“Early on, in the first inning, (Johnson) really struggled and got knocked around but he settled down and got us deep into the game,” Hartleb said. “(He) just competed, really competed and after the first inning threw very good pitches.
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Johnson’s flip of the switch came at a pivotal point for the Illini (9-12), who clawed back into the game by scoring in six of the next eight innings. With the score knotted at six apiece and two men out in the top of the ninth inning, Argo came to the plate with a chance to set the table and claim the lead. Argo proceeded to drill a triple to left-center field, setting up a game-winning single from shortstop Josh Parr that put the Illini up for good 7-6.
“With nobody on and two guys out, you’re just looking to drive the ball,” Argo said. “I was fortunate enough to do it, and Josh (Parr) came through with a big hit after that.”
“Josh has been hitting the ball really, really well this whole season,” Argo added. “I don’t know how many hits he had this weekend, but the kid’s been hitting line drives all over the field, so I feel pretty comfortable with him at the plate. The kid never slows, I wasn’t nervous at all, I knew he was just going to be excited to swing the bat when he got up there.”
With the 7-6 win, the Illini went into Saturday’s game with a chance to win their first series of the Big Ten season. Starter John Anderson was brilliant in his outing, allowing just two earned runs in eight innings while striking out six Penn State batters. In a further testament to Anderson’s dominance, each of the three Penn State runs on the day came either on a wild pitch or a passed ball. Despite the effort, the Illini fell 3-1 after Penn State starter John Walter tossed a complete game with nine strikeouts.
“I think I was locating my fastball really well,” Anderson said. “I was effective with my changeup, mixing up speeds, keeping the hitters off balance. Really my breaking stuff, which tends to be my better pitches, wasn’t that effective, but I was able to get by with pitching corners on the fastballs and getting them off balance with the changeup.”
Despite the two passed balls and the wild pitch, Anderson says he and catcher Adam Davis have no cause for concern.
“There wasn’t really a lot to say. It’s just a part of the game that happens sometimes. I don’t think it changes anything in the way that we will approach anything. I still have complete trust in (Davis) to block everything … The wild pitch was such a bad pitch that he couldn’t be expected to block it.”
Sunday in the rubber match, the Illini were put in an eight-run hole they wouldn’t overcome when starter Corey Kimes yielded a three-run home run to Penn State’s Jordan Steranka in the bottom of the third inning and then eight more Penn State runs in the fourth to put Illinois down 11-3.
“We were behind in the count all the time, walked too many hitters … and did not have good command,” Hartleb said. “You don’t throw quality pitches and you get knocked around.”
The Illini were unable to make their second comeback of the weekend and fell 13-4. Kimes picked up the loss, his third of the year, while junior Will Strack was strong in his four and one-third innings of relief. The 6-3 Strack lowered his team-best ERA to 3.13 by allowing just one earned run.
