CHAMPAIGN, Ill. - Following a 2:41 rain delay, No. 2 Illinois displayed its resilience yet again with a 10-9 comeback victory for win No. 26 in a row, equaling the all-time Big Ten winning streak record. The Illini scored their 10 runs in the first five innings and overcame a 4-2 deficit before closer Tyler Jay stymied the late Husker surge.
Nebraska pushed across an unearned run in the first on a pair of hits and an error in center field. Illinois immediately tied it up 1-1 with a leadoff single from shortstop Adam Walton who scored on junior Ryan Nagle's RBI double.
The Huskers knocked in a run in the second with an RBI single and the Illini responded with senior David Kerian driving in sophomore Pat McInerney on an RBI double to even the game at two apiece. Kerian went 3-for-4 with three RBI and extended his hitting streak to 17 games, one shy of his career high earlier this season.
In the top of the third, Luis Alvarado gave Nebraska a 4-2 edge on a two-out, two-run homer to left. Reid Roper got the Orange and Blue back within one at 4-3 with his career-high ninth home run in the bottom half.
Illinois capitalized on three Nebraska errors in the fourth and grabbed a 7-4 lead with four runs on only two hits. Sophomore Ryne Roper plated McInerney on a fielder's choice, while Nagle crushed an opposite-field three-run homer with two outs. His third dinger proved to be a game-changer.
With two outs in the fifth, Kerian and senior Will Krug belted back-to-back jacks for a 10-4 advantage. Kerian smashed a two-run shot and leads the Big Ten with 13 bombs, marking the most by an Illini since Lars Davis in 2007. Krug homered for the first time this season and second time in his career.
Starter Drasen Johnson improved to 9-2 by scattering nine hits over six innings and allowed four runs (3 ER). Johnson leads the Big Ten with a career-high 100 innings pitched.
Reliever J.D. Nielsen gave up a three-run homer in the seventh before settling down with three strikeouts. Nielsen also posted a zero in the eighth and finished with five punch outs.
In the top of the ninth, junior Nick Blackburn allowed a walk and a single before being replaced by Jay, who walked the next batter to load the bases.
After a pair of strikeouts, a single to left ended up bringing two runs home to make it 10-9. The relay throw went to second where the runner attempted to get back to the bag and was ruled safe despite jumping out of the baseline to avoid the tag.
A pop out to second sealed it, as Jay notched save No. 12 on the year and No. 22 for his career, which are both one shy of Jeff Richards for the Illinois school record.
2015 Fighting Illini Baseball
• Illinois is off to its best start in school history with a 45-6-1 record. The Illini's 45 wins rank third on the program's all-time list. The school record for victories is 49 in 1982.
• Illinois boasts the No. 1 winning percentage (0.875) in NCAA Division I Baseball and has the fewest losses (6).
• Illinois is on a school-record 26-game winning streak, which is the longest winning streak in the country in 2015. It equaled Nebraska (1983) for the longest winning streak by a Big Ten team.
• The NCAA record winning streak of 34 is owned by Texas (1977) and Florida Atlantic (1999).
• UI has won a Big Ten record 20 straight conference contests and is in first place at 21-1 overall, equaling the 2014 Indiana Hoosiers for the most wins during a 24-game Big Ten season (began in 2009).
• Illinois has outscored its opponents 216-96 during its 26-game winning streak. The Illini boast a .314 average and 2.91 ERA during that span. UI has overcome a deficit in 16 of the games and has 22 total comeback wins on the year.
• UI's 16-game home winning streak is the longest active streak in the nation. The Illini also boast the longest active road winning streak (10) and best road record (17-2-1) in the nation.
Up Next: No. 2 Illinois will celebrate Senior Day prior to its series finale with Nebraska on the Big Ten Network on Saturday at 2 p.m.
