Esperanza Graduate Pitches Illinois to Title

Jason Moler, a freshman from Esperanza High School, held Michigan to five hits in pitching Illinois to a 2-0 victory in the championship game of the Big Ten baseball tournament Saturday in Ann Arbor, Mich.

The victory gave Illinois (41-14) its first NCAA tournament berth under second-year Coach Augie Garrido, who coached Cal State Fullerton to national championships in 1979 and 1984. It was the first conference baseball title for the Illini since 1963.

Staked to a 2-0 lead in the first inning, Moler (6-2) pitched Illinois to its second victory in two days over the top-seeded Wolverines (46-14) in the double-elimination tournament. Michigan put runners on second and third with two out in the ninth inning. But Moler, a member of Garrido’s first recruiting class at Illinois, got Greg Haeger on an infield fly to end the game.