CHAMPAIGN, Ill. -- The Illinois baseball team Friday dropped a 6-5 decision to visiting Ohio State. Illinois drew 3,227 fans to Illinois Field, the ninth-largest crowd in the facility's history, for the annual Bleacher Bum BBQ.
Illinois (26-14, 10-5 Big Ten) rallied back from a 6-1 deficit to cut it to 6-5 in the fifth but could not finish the comeback. Michael Massey led Illinois with three hits, including an RBI triple, and Ben Troike homered to extend his reached base streak to 46 games.Â
Ohio State (28-14, 9-6 Big Ten) scored five of its runs in the third, including the eventual game-winning run on a failed pickoff attempt. The Illini bullpen gave Illinois a chance with 5 2/3 scoreless innings, allowing just three hits and striking out four.
The Buckeyes had four players with two hits. Noah McGowan scored two runs and had an RBI double to pass Bren Spillane for the Big Ten's RBI lead (50).Â
Andy Fisher (4-2) was handed the loss in 3 1/3 innings. He allowed eight hits and struck out four.Â
Ohio State's Connor Curlis (6-3) got the win in 5 1/3 innings and Seth Kinker threw the final three innings to secure his 10th save of the season.
The teams are back Saturday at Illinois Field for a 3 p.m. CT first pitch.
Notes
• Illinois hosted the annual Bleacher Bum BBQ and served beer for the first time.
• Illinois is 9-4 in one-run games.
• Illinois is 19-4 when scoring five or more runs and 25-8 when scoring three or more runs.
• Illinois is 101-103-2 all-time against Ohio State, including 54-47 in Champaign.
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Ben Troike has reached base in all 41 games this season. His current reached base streak is 46 dating back to the final five games of last season, tied for the fourth-longest active streak in the nation.
