No. 23 Buckeyes Drop Series Finale vs. No. 6 Illinois – Ohio State Buckeyes

Sunday, May 3

Columbus, Ohio

Ohio State

31-13, 12-6

No. 6 Illinois

40-6-1, 16-1

Illinois

Ohio State

No. 23 Buckeyes Drop Series Finale vs. No. 6 Illinois – Ohio State Buckeyes

5/3/2015 12:00:00 AM | Baseball

Box Score

May 3, 2015

RELATED INFO

Follow the Buckeyes on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram
Box Score
Season Stats

COLUMBUS, Ohio — The No. 23 Ohio State baseball team jumped out to a 2-0 lead but the No. 6 Illini posted six unanswered runs to defeat the Buckeyes, 6-2, Sunday afternoon at Nick Swisher Field at Bill Davis Stadium. The Buckeyes fall to 31-13 overall, 12-6 in Big Ten play, while Illinois improves to 40-6-1 and 16-1 in conference action.

Ohio State scored a run in both the first and second innings, respectively, vs. Illinois starter John Kravetz. Pat Porter had a RBI single to right field to plate Troy Montgomery in the first. In the second, L Grant Davis sent a sac fly to right to push Aaron Gretz around home plate. However, that would be all the Buckeyes would tally on the scoreboard despite getting the lead-off batter on base in six of nine frames. In all, the Scarlet and Gray left seven runners on base.

Ryan Riga received the loss to fall to 5-3 in 2015. After cruising through the first two frames, the relentless Illini bats notched six runs on nine hits vs. Riga, including three runs in the sixth inning. A two-run single in the fourth by David Kerian gave the away team a 3-2 lead before Andrew Walton singled through the left side in the sixth to extend the Illini advantage to 6-2. Seth Kinker threw the seven and eight innings and allowed no runs on one hit with a strikeout, while Trace Dempsey pitched the ninth with two strikeouts.

Kravetz through four innings and allowed two runs on four hits, while Rob McDonnell tossed four scoreless frames with four strikeouts and received the win to improve to 7-1. Tyler Jay pitched a shutout ninth.

The Fighting Illini improved their winning streak to 21-consecutive games, while the Buckeye suffered their first series sweep of 2015.

Ohio State travels to Miami and Cincinnati next week for two-midweek contests. The Buckeyes play the RedHawks at 6:35 p.m. Tuesday before taking on Cincinnati at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday. Ohio State concludes the home schedule with a three-game series vs. Maryland next weekend at Nick Swisher Field at Bill Davis Stadium.