Robertson’s double in bottom of 11th inning lifts Illini West past Jacksonville Routt

CARTHAGE, Ill. — The Illini West baseball team is getting used to battling until the end.

Thursday’s 6-5 victory in 11 innings over Jacksonville Routt at Jake Burling Field marked the second straight day the Chargers won a game in their last at-bat and the second time this week they’ve played extra innings.

This time, they needed a run in the bottom of the seventh inning to extend the game and clutch defense to survive.

It led to Wesley Robertson doubling to center field with one out in the bottom of the 11th, allowing Grady Blue to score the winning run from first base.

The comeback started in the seventh when Carter Chapin led off with a single to right field. He stole second, took third on a throwing error and scored on the next pitch when Routt’s Kale Reich uncorked a wild pitch. The Chargers (24-10) got runners to second and third with two outs, but a groundout ended the opportunity.

The Crusaders threatened to score in the eighth, but Chargers catcher Shawn Watkins Jr. threw out Talon Thompson attempting to steal third base for the second out of the inning. A groundout ended the frame. In the 10th, Routt drew three consecutive one-out walks, but Illini West reliever Tre Niederman entered and got Jacob Brown to fly out to center fielder Nick Johnson, whose throw home led to Routt’s Brady Turner getting caught in a rundown and tagged out at home.

Routt (18-12) loaded the bases with two outs in the top of the 11th, but Turner flied out to left field for the third out.

In the bottom of the 11th, Chapin led off with a single and went to second on a passed ball, but he was tagged out at third base on Blue’s attempted sacrifice bunt. Robertson hammered the first pitch from Routt reliever Jace Lautemann to center field for the game-winning double.

Robertson finished 4 for 5 with two doubles and two RBIs, while Chapin and Nick Bruns each had three hits and Watkins Jr. drove in two runs. Robertson pitched the first nine innings, allowing three earned runs and seven hits, while striking out seven and walking one.