OMAHA, Neb. — The Illinois baseball team dropped its Big Ten Tournament opener, 7-5, late Thursday night and early Friday morning at Charles Schwab Field Omaha. The Illini tied the game at 3-3 in the fourth and 4-4 in the sixth but could never pull ahead in the loss.
Illinois (31-21) and Michigan (29-25) played in the latest start time ever at Charles Schwab Field Omaha, a 10:54 p.m. CT start. The Illini move on to an elimination game Friday against Indiana at approximately 5 p.m. CT, while Michigan will take on Maryland at 9 p.m. CT.
The Illini scored all five of its runs with two outs. The first two-out rally to tie the game came in the fourth inning, when Cam McDonald sparked the Illini with a single, followed by back-to-back RBI doubles from Ryan Hampe and Taylor Jackson.
Cal Hejza got the score tied again in the sixth with a two-out RBI single, but Michigan plated two runs on three hits in the eighth inning to take the lead for good.
Jackson led the Illini with three hits and two RBIs. Hampe, Hejza, and McDonald all had two hits.
Joseph Glassey (2-2) took the loss after allowing two runs on three hits in 2 2/3 innings. Cole Kirschsieper started for the Illini and went the first five innings, while allowing four runs on eight hits.
The Big Ten Tournament resumes at 9 a.m. CT and continues with four games Friday.
Notes
• The game started at 10:54 p.m. CT, the latest start time in the history of Charles Schwab Field Omaha.
• The game ended at 2:16 a.m. CT, the latest ending time in the history of Charles Schwab Field Omaha.
• Cam McDonald has reached base in every game this season (63 consecutive games dating back to 5/8/21). He set the Illinois on-base streak record against Nebraska on May 14, reaching base in his 58th consecutive game.
• Illinois finished the regular season 17-7 in the B1G and 31-20 overall. 17-7 was the best conference record since 2015.
