No. 15 Illinois (21-6-1) picked up a 4-3 Braggin' Rights victory over Missouri (20-10) on Tuesday night at GCS Ballpark. Trailing 3-2 in the sixth, senior David Kerian hit a go-ahead two-run homer that proved to be the game winner. Starter Rob McDonnell nabbed his third win, and the bullpen paved the way for closer Tyler Jay to shut the door for his seventh save.
After Jason Goldstein doubled with two outs in the sixth, Kerian, who leads the Big Ten with a career-high seven home runs, poked the two-run shot over the short porch in right for a 4-3 edge. All four Illini runs came with two outs.
Jay stranded a runner at third to end the eighth with a strikeout looking and struck out the side swinging in the ninth for his 17th career save.
Three Illini players tallied a pair hits. Adam Walton, Ryan Nagle, and Goldstein tallied two hits, Nagle tallied an RBI nad Walton and Goldstein each scored.
Due to ongoing renovations at Rocky Miller Park, the Big Ten series between No. 15 Illinois and Northwestern scheduled for April 3-5 was moved to Champaign and will be played at Illinois Field.
