CHAMPAIGN, Ill. -- Fighting Illini baseball (24-25, 12-12) rallied late but ultimately fell 6-4 to UT Martin (22-32, 14-10) Friday night at Illinois Field.
The Skyhawks plated runs in the first inning for the second-straight game, jumping out to a 3-0 after one. The visitors would then add one more in the third and two more in fourth to build the lead to 6-0.
Illinois got on the board in the bottom half of the fourth when Danny Doligale drew a bases-loaded walk with no outs, but the Skyhawks struck out three-straight batters to end the home threat.
The Illini scored again in the seventh when Camden Janik singled home Branden Comia to make it 6-2.
Gabe Helder, John Lundgren and Tommy White combined for 5.2 scoreless innings in relief allowing no hits and striking out four. White retired all six batters that he faced, keeping the Skyhawks off the board in the eighth and ninth.
Drake Westcott kickstarted a late two-out rally in the ninth by crushing a solo shot to right, his 18th of the season, and Janik followed with a solo blast of his own, his fifth hit of the night, to make it 6-4, but the Illini were unable to push any more runs across the plate.
The Fighting Illini will be back in action tomorrow for the regular season finale against UT Martin, with first pitch from Illinois Field scheduled for 1:00 p.m. CT.
GAME NOTES
» Camden Janik went 5-for-5 with a run, home run and RBI.
» Career-high five hits...first Illini batter with a five-hit game since Justin Janas on April 30, 2022, at Indiana.
» Has hit safely in six of his last seven games.
» Drake Westcott went 2-for-5 with two runs, a home run and an RBI.
» Was his 18th home run of the season...tied for fifth-most home runs in a single season in program history.
» Branden Comia went 1-for-3 with a run, walk and was hit by a pitch.
» Extended his hitting streak to a season-high 10 games...is batting .400 (18-for-45) with four doubles, three home runs and nine RBI during that span.
» Was hit by a pitch for the 44th time in his Illinois career, tying him for second-most all-time in program history...trails program record by one.
» Gabe Helder worked a career-high 1.2 innings and did not allow a run or a hit and struck out one.
» John Lundgren tossed 2.0 scoreless innings and did not allow a hit and fanned three.
» Struck out the side in the seventh.
» Tommy White twirled a career-high 2.0 innings and did not allow a run or hit.
» Illinois left 10 runners stranded on base in the loss.
» Illinois pitchers faced 42 UT Martin hitters in the game, allowing 14 ground balls and seven fly balls while striking out five.
» The Fighting Illini drew five walks from UT Martin pitching.
This story created through content automation technology from Data Skrive.
