By David Boyle
Gargoyle co-editor-in-chief
Posted Friday, March 31, 2006, The OG, sports

The Uni baseball team faced off against crosstown rival St. Thomas More in Champaign Thursday afternoon. With sophomore Mike Renner on the mound, the Illineks looked to bring down one of the area's better Class A teams.

But the Sabers' varsity squad was simply too strong, overwhelming Uni 20-3. On the strength of starter Clayton Reiser's pitching and a 13-run tear in the third inning, STM put the game away early. Uni fell to 0-2 on the season. Sophomore pitcher Mike Renner took the loss.

Renner started things off for the visiting Illineks in the first with an infield single. His older brother Al Renner singled to right field, then sophomore Frankie McFarland loaded the bases with a walk. That was the closest Uni came to taking a lead, as the inning ended with three runners stranded.

In the bottom of the first, STM led things off with a walk. The runner advanced on a sacrifice and then stole third on a controversial play. Mike Renner's throw and McFarland's tag seemed to be on the money, but the officials saw it differently. On the next pitch the runner stole home on a passed ball, giving STM an early 1-0 lead as Renner closed out the inning.

After the Uni batters went down in order in the second, STM looked to widen its lead. Renner found himself getting behind in the counts and walked the first two batters. They made it home on a sacrifice play and another passed ball, building the lead to 3-0. Then a routine ground ball turned into two bases for STM after an infield throwing error. The Sabers converted the defensive lapse into another run.

Mike Renner came to the mound in the bottom of the third looking to keep the Illineks in the game after Uni went scoreless in the top of the inning. But a high pitch count began to wear on the sophomore. After he walked in two runners, he was relieved by senior Brett Clark.

Clark had difficulty cleaning up the inning, and after a slew of hits and two more errors, the Sabers had piled up a 17-0 lead.

In the top of the fourth, senior first baseman Austin Berger got the first hit of his Uni baseball career. Berger's play sparked the Illineks, as senior second baseman Katie Carmody walked and Clark made it to first after taking a pitch in the arm. Mike Renner cleared out the bases with a double, cutting the lead to 17-3.

In the bottom of the fourth, STM tacked on three more runs.

The game ended after Uni went scoreless in the top of the fifth. The inning's highlight came when Al Renner hit a deep stand-up double, putting his season batting mark at a perfect 6-for-6.

The Illineks play Heritage High (East Central) Saturday morning at Uni's home field in Rantoul. The game begins at 10 a.m.

The team's 2006 schedule is available online here.