MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. - Illinois saw its Big Ten Tournament run come to an end on Saturday, falling 5-3 to Michigan at Target Field. The Illini committed a season-high three errors for the second time in three days and gave up five unearned runs. Starter
Rob McDonnell suffered the loss with five strikeouts in five innings.
A two-out hit by pitch and throwing error extended the second inning, where Michigan jumped out to a 2-0 lead on two-run single by Jacob Cronenworth.
Senior
David Kerian, who went 2-for-3 with a home run and two RBI, collected his first hit of the tournament with a two-out double that plated senior
Casey Fletcher in the fourth to cut the deficit in half.
In the fifth, junior
Ryan Nagle evened it up 2-2 by driving in sophomore
Ryne Roper, who reached on an error and got to third on a groundout.
Illinois scored for the third consecutive inning in the sixth, as Kerian nailed the foul pole for a 3-2 advantage. The Big Ten Player of the Year leads the conference with a career-high 14 home runs.
Michigan grabbed a 5-3 lead with three unearned runs in the sixth. An error at third base and shortstop allowed the first two runners to reach, while a walk loaded the bases. A hit by pitch tied the game at three and forced a pitching change.
Reliever
Andrew Mamlic faced one batter and induced a 6-3 double play, but the go-ahead run came home. Junior
J.D. Nielsen took over and Michigan slid into first for a two-run lead with an RBI infield single.
The Illini went down in order in the seventh and left the bases loaded in the eighth. Junior
Tyler Jay recorded the final out of the seventh and breezed through the eighth on 11 pitches with two strikeouts.
Nagle tallied a two-out single in the ninth, but a fly out to center ended the game.
Up Next: The 16 Regional hosts will be announced starting at 7:30 p.m., Sunday, May 24 on the NCAA Baseball social channels @NCAACWS and https://www.facebook.com/NCAACWS. The regional hosts will also be shown on the BottomLine of the ESPN Networks starting at 8 p.m.
The 2015 NCAA Division I Baseball Championship Selection Show, with regional pairings, will be revealed in a live, one-hour telecast on ESPNU at 11 a.m. CT, Monday, May 25.
Big Ten Tournament Game Notes•   Illinois (47-8-1) is two wins shy of the school record for victories (49 in 1982).
•   Illinois boasts the No. 1 winning percentage (0.848) in NCAA Division I Baseball and has the fewest losses (8).
•   The 2015 Illini pitching staff (423 K) broke the school record for strikeouts from 1998 (419 K). Their 2.46 ERA is on pace to shatter the school's ERA record (3.25) from last season.
•   Playing in the Big Ten postseason for the 21st time, Illinois is now 29-35 all-time in the Big Ten Tournament.
