CHAMPAIGN, Ill. -- Illinois baseball (27-22, 12-15) dropped its series finale to UCLA (37-14, 20-7), 8-4, today at Illinois Field.
Jack Zebig led the Illini at the plate, going 3-for-5 with a run and an RBI. Drake Westcott went 1-for-2 with a team-high two RBI and three walks.
Mitch Dye turned in 2.0 scoreless innings in relief, whiffing three batters.
HOW IT HAPPENED
The Bruins jumped to a 3-0 lead after the second and expanded that lead to 8-0 after the fifth.
Illinois got on the board in seventh, scoring four times to cut the lead in half. Vytas Valincius collected an RBI on a fielder's choice and Zebig followed with an RBI-single. Westcott brought home two runs two batters later with a single into the right-center gap.
The Illini would put runners on the corners in the eight but could not find a decisive hit in the inning to cut into the lead.
The Orange and Blue were unable to mount and a rally in the ninth and were ultimately fell 8-4 in the contest.
UP NEXT
The Fighting Illini will be back in action on Thursday, when they begin their final Big Ten series of the season at Ohio State. First pitch in the series opener from Columbus, Ohio, is set for 5 p.m. CT.
GAME NOTES
» Jack Zebig went 3-for-5 with a run and an RBI.
» Fifth three-hit game of the season.
» Drake Westcott went 1-for-2 with two RBI and three walks.
» Season-high three walks.
» Mitch Dye turned in his eighth scoreless outing of the season.
» 2.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R/ER, 1 BB, 3 SO
» Illinois left 13 runners stranded on base in the loss.
» Illinois pitchers limited UCLA to just 1-for-7 (.143) with runners in scoring position.
» Illinois pitchers faced 40 UCLA hitters in the game, allowing six ground balls and 10 fly balls while striking out 10.
» The Fighting Illini drew 11 walks from UCLA pitching.
» The Illini were swept in a Big Ten series at home for the first time since March 24-26, 2017, vs. Michigan State.
This story created through content automation technology from Data Skrive.
