EAST LANSING, Mich. — Michigan State's Marty Bechina hit a three-run homer in the third inning and that was enough for the Spartans to hand the No. 23 Illinois baseball team a 5-2 loss Friday night. Illinois falls out of the running for the Big Ten regular season title with one game remaining on the schedule.
"Big day tomorrow. It's all about winning series, especially on the road," said head coach Dan Hartleb. "We have to find a way to win the series."
Illinois (35-17, 14-9 Big Ten) can still finish as high as No. 3 and no lower than No. 5 in the Big Ten standings. The Illini will open the Big Ten Tournament next Wednesday at either 9 a.m. CT (No. 3 seed vs. No. 6 seed) or 9 p.m. CT (No. 4 seed vs. No. 5 seed).
Michigan State (20-33, 8-14 Big Ten) got a complete game victory from Mitchell Tyranksi, the first of his career. The junior lefty scattered eight hits without issuing a walk, allowing only two runs and striking out seven to even the series.
"Tyranski threw very well," said Hartleb. "Sometimes you have to tip your hat to them."
Michael Michalak had two hits to lead Illinois, which outhit Michigan State 8-7. Michael Massey doubled in the ninth for the Illini's only extra-base hit to extend his reached base streak to 20 games.
Ty Weber (4-2) took the loss by allowing four runs on three hits in four innings. Ryan Schmitt (1.2 IP, 2 H, 0 R), Nathan Lavender (0.1 IP, 0 H, 0 R) and Quinn Snarskis (2.0 IP, 2 H, 1 R) came out of the bullpen to give Illinois a chance to come back, but could not get the bats going.
The two teams are back at the diamond Saturday at noon CT to finish the regular season. Illinois looks to secure its sixth straight Big Ten series win with Cyrillo Watson on the mound.
Notes
• Illinois has won 13 of its last 17 games.
• Illinois is 13-4 in its last 17 Big Ten games. After starting conference play 1-5, Illinois is now 14-9.
• Illinois will put its five series Big Ten winning streak on the line Saturday (at Minnesota, Penn State, at Nebraska, Indiana, Purdue).
• Illinois has series wins against every top-five Big Ten team played (at Minnesota, at Nebraska, Indiana).
• Illinois has played error-free in 13 of the last 18 games. Illinois has only seven errors in the last 18 games.
• Illinois can't finish higher than Indiana or Michigan in the Big Ten standings. Indiana can claim the Big Ten title with a Michigan loss later tonight or a win over Rutgers tomorrow.
• Hitting streaks: Yalowitz 8, McDonald 7
• Reached base streaks: Massey 20, Yalowitz 8, McDonald 7, Taylor 7
• Michigan State celebrated its Military Appreciation Night with gold camo uniforms.
• Illinois is ranked No. 23 by D1Baseball, its highest ranking this season.
• Illinois would claim the Big Ten Tournament No. 3 seed with a win Saturday at Michigan State.
