CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – The Illinois baseball team snapped a 22-game Big Ten regular season winning streak with a 5-3 loss to Penn State in a battle of freshmen starting pitchers Saturday afternoon at Illinois Field. The Illini's Cole Bellair and Penn State's Justin Hagenman had to game 1-1 through eight innings before the game was decided in the ninth.
Hagenman (4-1) benefited from a four-run top of the ninth, sparked by pinch hitter Willie Burger's three-RBI double. Burger was initially slated to be Penn State's No. 3 hitter in the lineup for the weekend before being sidelined with an injury until that deciding at-bat.
Hagenman had thrown eight innings without allowing an earned run before Burger's heroics. He got one out in the eighth, but was pulled once Illinois started a rally that put the tying run on deck. Hagenman finished with 8.1 innings pitched, while allowing three runs (two earned) on four hits and striking out six.
Jason Anderson earned his seventh save, after working around Anthony Drago's RBI double to bring the tying run to the plate. A terrific play by second baseman Christian Helsel retired Jack Yalowitz and pinch hitter Jalin McMillan tapped out to Anderson to end the game.
Illinois (10-11, 2-1 Big Ten) spoiled Bellair's longest outing of his freshman season. The right-hander allowed one run on six hits and struck out five in 8.0 innings, including a run of 14 straight Nittany Lions sat down from the time he allowed a run in the fourth until he exited after the eighth.
Andrew Mamlic (1-4) got one out and allowed three runs in the ninth. Burger doubled off J.D. Nielsen, who was responsible for one earned run.
Penn State (10-12, 1-2 Big Ten) snapped an 11-game winning streak by Illinois in the teams' all-time series. The Illini were looking to sweep Penn State for a fourth straight year.
Illinois hits the road Tuesday for a 3 p.m. game at Indiana State. The Illini resume Big Ten play next weekend at Nebraska.
