Brian Russell, Ph.D. Senior Associate Director of Athletics, Sports Administration and Student-Athlete Development | University of Illinois Division of Intercollegiate Athletics
Brian Russell, Ph.D. Senior Associate Director of Athletics, Sports Administration and Student-Athlete Development | University of Illinois Division of Intercollegiate Athletics
Illinois baseball team experienced a setback in their game against Texas Tech at the Las Vegas College Baseball Classic. Despite holding a 5-4 lead going into the ninth inning, Illinois fell to a 10-6 defeat after Texas Tech rallied with six runs.
Key performances included Jack Zebig and Kyle Schupmann, who each contributed two hits and an RBI. Coltin Quagliano also added an RBI-triple. Tyler Schmitt started on the mound for Illinois, allowing three runs over four innings, while Jake Swartz provided solid relief by giving up just one run on two hits over another four innings.
The game began with Texas Tech taking a 1-0 lead on a sacrifice fly. Illinois responded in the second inning when Quagliano's RBI-triple leveled the score. The Illini then took their first lead of the game in the third inning with two sacrifice flies but were pegged back to 3-3 by another Red Raider sacrifice fly in the fourth.
Drake Westcott's RBI-single in the sixth put Illinois ahead again, but Texas Tech equalized in the eighth. Quagliano scored from first base on an outfield error to restore Illinois' lead at 5-4 before Texas Tech's decisive rally in the ninth inning.
Despite Zebig recording an RBI-single late on, it was not enough for Illinois to recover from Texas Tech's late surge.
Illinois will continue their participation in the Las Vegas College Baseball Classic tomorrow against Washington at 2 p.m. CT.
Alerts Sign-up