East Lansing, Mich.--Nobody's perfect but Illinois right-hander John Ericks should have been. Ericks threw 11 innings of perfect baseball against Michigan State, yet had to "settle" for a no-hitter.
"I feel terrible that we didn't score earlier in the game for him," said Illini teammate Lou Boudreau. "John should be in the record books with a perfect game."
Since neither team could score in nine innings, the game went into extra frames as the tension mounted on both sides.
"It was back-and-forth the whole way," said Michigan State catcher Bruce Look. "It was a terrific game to be part of, a terrible game to lose."
But lose the Spartans did as Ericks outdueled four Spartan pitchers--starter Mark Mulder and relievers Tim Crabtree, Dick Radatz and Don Gross to win 1-0. Radatz, 0-3, wound up as the game's loser when Scott Spiezio singled home pinch-runner Bob Burda with the game's only run in the top of the 12th.
"I've never throw the ball so well before," said Ericks following his 120-pitch, eight-strikeout performance. "I felt as if I could throw my fastball through a brick wall today. My off-speed pitches really had bite to them."
Ericks' bid for perfection ended when he walked Dick Billings on a 3-2 pitch to lead off the 12th inning. With the game still in doubt, Ericks next struck out Rob Ellis and got Nick Picciuto to ground into a game-ending double play.
"John was nearly flawless today," said Illinois manager Tom Dedin. "We may never see a performance like this again--ever."
Illini catcher Jake Stahl added, "In all years of playing ball, I've never seen anyone so dominant. The balls Michigan State put in play weren't hit hard at all."
The closest Michigan State came to a hit occured in the fifth inning when first baseman Steve Garvey drove a solid line drive into the right-center field gap. Illini right fielder George Halas was able to run down the ball and make the catch as he neared the warning track. Interestingly, Garvey broke up Neal Heaton of Miami's bid for a no-hitter in early June.
Ericks' masterpiece was the season's second no-hitter; the first came May 17 by Oklahoma State's Allie Reynolds against Cal State Fullerton.
Ericks has a 5-6 record on the season with a 2.84 ERA.
BOX SCORES Illinois @ Michigan State
Game #: 942, (GAME LOG) , Sunday, 7/18/2006
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 R H E
Illinois 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 8 0
Michigan State 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3
Illinois AB R H RBI BB K AVG HR RBI
B. Klaus 2B 6 0 1 0 0 1 .195 4 24
L. Boudreau SS 5 0 0 0 0 1 .275 13 51
D. Lenhardt 1B 5 0 1 0 0 1 .220 12 34
H. Evers CF 5 0 1 0 0 2 .288 11 52
J. Stahl C ,LF 4 0 1 0 0 0 .264 4 30
T. Fletcher
PR 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 0 0
B. Burda LF 0 1 0 0 1 0 .150 0 3
H. Plews DH 5 0 0 0 0 1 .282 6 49
M. Dalesandro LF 3 0 1 0 0 0 .252 4 21
F. Smykal
PR 0 0 0 0 0 0 .171 0 3
G. Kolb RF 2 0 0 0 0 0 .283 0 5
S. Spiezio 3B 5 0 1 1 0 1 .236 5 19
G. Halas RF 2 0 1 0 0 0 .222 3 21
R. Novotney C 2 0 0 0 0 0 .270 6 32
D. Pall
PR 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 0 0
T. Haller C 1 0 1 0 0 0 .239 4 12
Totals 45 1 8 1 1 7
BATTING
Doubles: G. Halas (17, 3rd inning off Mulder, 0 on, 1 out.)
Runs Batted In: S. Spiezio (19)
Caught Stealing: H. Evers (1), F. Smykal (2)
Michigan State AB R H RBI BB K AVG HR RBI
D. Masteller 1B 4 0 0 0 0 1 .183 3 25
K. Gibson RF 4 0 0 0 0 1 .179 4 19
R. Miller DH 4 0 0 0 0 1 .278 6 33
B. Look C 4 0 0 0 0 0 .204 1 19
S. Garvey 3B 4 0 0 0 0 0 .233 2 29
I. Bartling SS 4 0 0 0 0 1 .175 5 26
D. Billings LF 3 0 0 0 1 1 .223 6 33
E. Pinnance
PR 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 0 0
R. Ellis CF 4 0 0 0 0 2 .181 4 22
N. Picciuto 2B 4 0 0 0 0 1 .141 0 7
Totals 35 0 0 0 1 8
BATTING
FIELDING
Errors: D. Masteller (9), S. Garvey (28), N. Picciuto (16)
Illinois IP H R ER BB K HR PI PS ERA RECORD
J. Ericks W 12 0 0 0 1 8 0 120 74 2.84 5-6
PITCHING
Batters Faced: J. Ericks 36
Ground Balls-Fly Balls: J. Ericks 12-15
Game Score: J. Ericks 109
Michigan State IP H R ER BB K HR PI PS ERA RECORD
M. Mulder 9 6 0 0 0 3 0 107 63 2.45
T. Crabtree 0.2 0 0 0 0 1 0 8 7 1.54
D. Radatz L 2 0 1 1 1 3 0 28 16 1.09 0-3
D. Gross 0.1 2 0 0 0 0 0 13 7 3.68
PITCHING
Batters Faced: M. Mulder 33, T. Crabtree 3, D. Radatz 7, D. Gross 3
Ground Balls-Fly Balls: M. Mulder 14-10, T. Crabtree 1-1, D. Radatz 3-0, D. Gross 1-0
Game Score: M. Mulder 78
GAME INFO
Time: 3:26
Attendance: 30105 (45000)
Weather: Clear skies (85 degrees), wind blowing right to left at 8 mph
PLAYER OF THE GAME: John Ericks (shown below)