Morning Box Score
By Marcus Gilmer in Miscellaneous on Sep 7, 2008 3:00PM
Soriano Earns Contract
Alfonso Soriano finally earned his big money contract by belting three home runs Saturday night as the Cubs ended a six-game losing streak and beat the Reds 14-9. Soriano's five RBIs were the difference, though Mark DeRosa continued his career year with his 20th home run, Jason Marquis helped his own cause with a solo shot, and Derek Lee had three RBIs. Marquis pitched a good seven and 1/3 innings to get the win, giving up only two runs before the bullpen gave up seven over the final one and 2/3 innings to make it interesting. The win helped the Cubs maintain their four-game lead over the Brewers.
Thome Powers Sox Over Angels
Thanks to some extra-inning heroics from Jim Thome, the White Sox topped the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, California, USA, North America, Earth, Milky Way 7-6 in fifteen innings. The home run, Thome's 30th of the year, also moved him past Mickey Mantle in 14th-place all-time with 537 homers. This was AFTER rallies in the seventh and ninth innings kept the Sox alive. Ehren Wassermann, who pitched the last third of the 15th inning, got the win for the Sox, who also extended their AL Central lead over the Twins to two games. Huzzah!
Juice Does It All For Illinois
QB Juice Williams ran for 174 yards and two touchdowns and then threw for 124 for more yards (and another touchdown) as Illinois eased past Eastern Illinois, 47-21. Eight receivers caught passes for Illinois, though the Illini turned the ball over five times, something that won't help against stiffer competition.
Northwestern Edges Duke
The Wildcats made things interesting against Duke but ultimately found their way past the Blue Devils, winning 24-20 to advance to 2-0 on the year. Duke dominated time-of-possession 2-to-1, and Duke QB Thad Lewis threw for 256 yards but it was the Northwestern ground attack that helped the Wildcats: Tyrell Sutton gained 66 yards and two touchdowns and Omar Conteh added another TD to lead the Wildcats to victory.
NIU Falls To W. Michigan
Northern Illinois racked up 439 yards of total offense Saturday but it wasn't enough as they lost to Western Michigan 29-26 and fell to 0-2 on the year. Nine different receivers caught passes for NIU as QBs Dan Nicholson and Chandler Harnish combined for 297 yards passing but WMU's Brandon West ran for 175 yards and QB Tim Hiller threw three TDs for the Broncos.
Notre Dame Tops Mighty San Diego State
Notre Dame scored 2 TDs in the fourth quarter to edge the powerhouse that is San Diego State, 21-13. With apologies to L. Stolpman, whoop-ee-dee-doo.