Chambana Sun

Illinois baseball concluded its regular season with a narrow 11-10 loss to Ohio State in extra innings at Bill Davis Stadium. The Illini, who finished the season with a 29-23 record, managed to clinch a berth in the upcoming Big Ten Baseball Tournament.

Jacob Schroeder led Illinois offensively, going 3-for-5 with two home runs and four RBIs. "First multi-HR game of the season," noted the team's press release, highlighting that Schroeder now has 38 career homers, tying for sixth-most in program history. Collin Jennings and Coltin Quagliano also contributed with home runs.

Reed Gannon provided effective relief pitching for Illinois, working 3.1 scoreless innings and allowing only one hit while striking out two batters. "Gannon worked his longest scoreless outing of the season," according to game notes from the team.

The Buckeyes initially took an early lead with solo home runs in the second inning, but Illinois responded robustly in the third inning by scoring six runs. Despite efforts from both teams throughout regulation play, Ohio State managed to tie the game in the ninth inning with a sacrifice fly, pushing it into extra innings.

Schroeder's solo home run put Illinois ahead again in the 10th inning; however, Ohio State answered back by scoring twice more to secure a walk-off victory over their visitors.

Looking forward, Illinois awaits its official seeding for The Big Ten Baseball Tournament presented by IFS.ai. The tournament is set to commence at Charles Schwab Field Omaha on Tuesday morning.