The college baseball battle for I-57 was renewed Tuesday as the Panthers took on the Fighting Illini in Peterson Park in Mattoon, beating Illinois by a score of 4-1.

Freshman right-hander Joe Greenfield got the start for the Panthers, going five innings and earning a no-decision, allowing one run on four hits with no walks or strikeouts.

Head coach Jim Schmitz said he was pleased with the way Greenfield pitched in his second collegiate start.

“Pitching is it,” Schmitz said. “Joe Greenfield, for a freshman, to come in with how he pitched against Indiana State (last Wednesday). We actually had a couple boo-boos behind him that (Illinois) didn’t take advantage of.”

The game started off quietly, as the only score in the first five innings was provided by a second inning Illini home run.

Senior right-hander Brent McNeil got the win, coming in during the sixth inning and not allowing a run while stranding one inherited base runner. McNeil struck out seven and walked one in his four innings of hitless work.

The sixth inning saw freshman catcher Jacob Reese throw out a potential base-stealer at third base with one out in the top half.

Schmitz said his team knew coming in that Illinois was a team that ran and did the little things, and that it factored into the game-plan.

“We told (the team), it’s little things that Illinois does,” Schmitz said. “They steal bases, they do things and obviously throwing the runner out at third was huge in that situation.”

The Panthers then sparked a one-out rally in the bottom half of the frame to score four runs on an RBI-double by red-shirt junior first baseman T.J. McManus and a three-run homer by red-shirt junior Ben Thoma to put the Panthers up 4-1, a score that would stand for the rest of the game.

Thoma said he thought Illinois would pitch around him with runners at second and third and one out.

“It was a low-scoring game to that point,” Thoma said. “It was a full count, low and inside fastball, he gave me a pitch to hit and I took advantage.”

Schmitz said while junior Zach Borenstein and red-shirt junior T.J. McManus had doubles in the sixth inning rally, senior shortstop Cam Strang’s two-strike single was also key to continuing the inning and the rally.

“Those are the things that are going to win these games,” Schmitz said. “That’s what we told the guys (in the) middle of the game. You’ve got to do those things and not be macho and just swing. The little base hit in the four hole by Cam is probably going to get overlooked for Borno’s and McManus’s (double) and Thoma’s home run but we’ve got to do the little things to get guys on.”

The Panthers’ next action will be a non-conference match-up Wednesday against Illinois College in Coaches’ Stadium at 3 p.m. Eastern will then host OVC foe Tennessee Tech, with games on Saturday and Sunday beginning at 1 p.m. in Coaches’ Stadium.

Brad Kupiec can be reached at 581-7944 or [email protected]