IOWA CITY, Iowa -- Iowa scored four runs in the eighth inning to knock off the No. 25 Illinois baseball team, 8-4, Friday at Banks Field.
Illinois (17-6, 0-1 Big Ten) was down 3-0 but rallied to take a 4-3 lead in the Big Ten opening loss. The Illini scored one in the fifth and three in the sixth to take the lead, capped by a Jack Yalowitz RBI bunt single with two outs.
"There were some things we did well and some things we didn't do well," said head coach Dan Hartleb. "We found a way to come back. Did a really good job to come back."
Iowa (13-10, 1-3 Big Ten) benefited from five walks in the eighth. A bases-loaded walk on a 3-2 pitch to Chris Whelan gave Iowa the lead, Grant Judkins added two runs on a bloop single and Justin Jenkins drew another bases-loaded walk.
"You have to tip your cap to Iowa, they did a really good job," said Hartleb. "And we did some things to shoot ourselves in the foot."
Iowa scored all eight of its runs with two outs. The Hawkeyes went 6-for-14 with runners in scoring position, while Illinois was only 3-for-14 with runners in scoring position.
Illinois was led by two hits from Ben Troike, Michael Massey, Kellen Sarver and Jack Yalowitz. Troike doubled twice and Sarver, Yalowitz and Van Scoy each had a double and an RBI.
Illinois and Iowa are back Saturday for the second game of the three-game series.
Notes
• Illinois lost for the first time when leading or tied after seven innings, falling to 15-1.
• The game was moved up twice, a total of four hours, to avoid rain.
• Illinois is ranked No. 25 by D1Baseball.com.
• Hitting streaks: Massey 8, Sarver 6
• Reached base streaks: Sarver 11, Massey 8, Van Scoy 6
