Jack Yalowitz and Pat McInerney homered in the fourth inning, Andrew Mamlic tied his career high with 7.0 innings pitched Tuesday to help the Illinois baseball team win 6-4 over Missouri at GCS Ballpark.
Mamlic struck out a career-best seven batters while allowing one earned run on four hits. The right-hander retired eight of the last 10 batters he faced, after Illinois grabbed a 4-2 lead with four runs on five hits in the bottom of the fourth. Mamlic pounded the zone with 76 strikes in 109 pitches.
Yalowitz led off the four-run fourth with an opposite field solo homer, the first of his career. McInerney followed four batters later with a two-run blast that easily cleared the left field wall. Anthony Drago singled after McInerney's fourth homer of the year, then advanced to second on a wild pitch, and scored on Dan Rowbottom's single to right field.
McInerney, Yalowitz, Rowbottom and Jason Goldstein all had two hits. Yalowitz smacked a RBI double to the right field corner in the ninth to give the Illini an insurance run.
Nick Blackburn threw eight pitches in a 1-2-3 ninth to pick up the save. Blackburn moved into a tie for third on Illinois' single-season saves list with his 10th of the year.
Illinois (22-19) evened the all-time series against Mizzou, 13-13-1, with its third win over the Tigers in the last four meetings.
Illinois has a quick turnaround when Southern Illinois visits Champaign tomorrow for a 3:30 p.m. CT matchup. It will be Star Wars Day at Illinois Field.