Doug Hayes put up one of the best Illinois baseball pitching performances in recent years by throwing only 94 pitches in a one-hitter against Penn State, as the Illini cruised to a 6-1 win. Hayes induced 18 groundouts, while facing one batter over the minimum. 

Hayes allowed a leadoff triple in the fourth for one of only two Penn State base runners. He threw 64 strikes and 30 balls to eclipse his previous career high in innings by three.

Pat McInerney led the offense with three hits and Jason Goldstein and Anthony Drago both hit home runs in the fourth inning. Drago's was a three-run shot to break the game open.

In the afternoon game, Penn State snapped a 22-game Big Ten regular season winning the Illini had in a 5-3 win in a battle of freshmen starting pitchers Saturday afternoon at Illinois Field.

The Illini's Cole Bellair and Penn State's Justin Hagenman had to game 1-1 through eight innings before the game was decided in the ninth.

Hagenman (4-1) benefited from a four-run top of the ninth, sparked by pinch hitter Willie Burger's three-RBI double. Burger was initially slated to be Penn State's No. 3 hitter in the lineup for the weekend before being sidelined with an injury until that deciding at-bat.

Hagenman had thrown eight innings without allowing an earned run before Burger's heroics. He got one out in the eighth, but was pulled once Illinois started a rally that put the tying run on deck. Hagenman finished with 8.1 innings pitched, while allowing three runs (two earned) on four hits and striking out six.

Pat McInerney tallied a pair of hits with a run. Gason Goldstein and Anthony Drago had an RBI and Adam Walton scored a run for the Illini.

Illinois hits the road Tuesday for a 3 p.m. game at Indiana State. The Illini resume Big Ten play next weekend at Nebraska.