CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – A wild pitch in the bottom of the 15th inning Friday night gave the Illinois baseball team a 1-0 win over Ohio State at Illinois Field. Cody Sedlock struck out 14 batters in 10.2 shutout innings, the most innings by a Division I pitcher this year, as the Illini fanned 23 Buckeyes.
"As long as you're in baseball, you see something new every single day," said head coach Dan Hartleb. "That game was a clean-played game by both teams. I'm not sure if anybody deserved to win or lose. It is a big win from a mentality standpoint. For our guys to bounce back and do what they did tonight after some of the very tough losses we have had, I was impressed with them."
Illinois (19-16, 5-5 Big Ten) pushed its season-best winning streak to six games when Jack Yalowitz slid home with the game's only run. Yalowitz and Hurwitz hit back-to-back singles with one out before Jason Goldstein grounded out to second to move them over. Ohio State's Kyle Michalik threw a 1-1 pitch to the backstop to bring Yalowitz home from third.
Sedlock and three relievers – J.D. Nielsen, Nick Blackburn and Charlie Naso – got the Fighting Illini to the 15th while allowing just five hits. Sedlock scattered those five hits in his 10.2 innings, as he flashed a devastating curveball that led him to a career-best strikeout total. The bullpen did not allow a hit and struck out seven in 4.1 innings.
Sedlock faced 36 batters and none reached second base between the third and ninth innings. He worked six 1-2-3 innings, including a stretch of 13-straight batters retired through the middle frames.
"There were a couple factors that played into (Sedlock's 10.2 innings)," said Hartleb. "One of the major factors was he did not have tough innings. If he had a 30-pitch inning somewhere in there early and was not throwing many strikes, it would be a different story. He did a great job."
Ohio State (24-13-1, 4-6 Big Ten) had its best opportunity in the 14th when a walk, hit by pitch, wild pitch and intentional walk loaded the bases against Nick Blackburn with one out. Illinois' usual closer answered with two strikeouts to keep the game scoreless.
Illinois outhit the Buckeyes, 11-5, although neither team had an extra-base hit. Pat McInerney and Doran Turchin led the Illini with three hits apiece and Michael Hurwitz added two, both in extra innings, to extend his hitting streak to 11 games.
Only seven of the combined 102 at-bats between the teams ended in a walk. The lone error came on an Ohio State overthrow on a steal attempt.
It was Illinois' longest game since a 15-inning outing at Penn State last season. The Illini won that game 4-2 in University Park, Pennsylvania.
The two teams face each other tomorrow for the second game of the series at Illinois Field. First pitch is slated for 3 p.m. CT, while Sunday's series finale is scheduled for 1 p.m. CT.
