Illinois completed the sweep over Penn State on Saturday afternoon with a 7-4 win over the Nittany Lions. The two teams were tied heading into the final frame when a three-run ninth inning gave Illinois the win over Penn State. The Illini finish the regular season 31-20 and 17-7 in the B1G, the best conference mark since 2015.
The Illini and Nittany Lions traded the lead throughout the middle innings as Penn State (25-27, 11-13 B1G) scored first before the Illini took the lead back with two runs in the fourth inning on a Cam McDonald home run, his seventh of the season.
Tied at four heading into the ninth inning, Cal Hejza put the Illini on top with a sacrifice fly, followed by a two-out, two-RBI single by Branden Comia which gave Illinois a 7-4 edge heading into the bottom of the ninth.
Ryan Kutt started the game for the Illini, going 5.0 innings and allowing three runs on eight hits while striking out four. Offensively, Branden Comia and Ryan Hampe each had multi-hit games while Comia also added three RBI.
Joe Glassey shut the door in the bottom of the ninth, entering the game and immediately getting a 6-4-3 double play. He earns his third save of the season while Ty Rybarczyk is credited with the win, moving to 4-1. Penn State's Miller (3-3) takes the loss.
The Illini will be the No. 4 seed in the upcoming Big Ten baseball tournament in Omaha (May 25-29), the conference office announced on Saturday night. Illinois will play No. 5-seeded Michigan at approximately 9 p.m. CT on Wednesday night in its first-round matchup at Charles Schwab Field.
This is the first time the Big Ten tournament has been played since 2019 as the Big Ten season was canceled due to COVID-19 in 2020 and the conference did not hold a tournament in 2021. Illinois went 0-2 with losses to Maryland and Michigan in the 2019 Big Ten tournament.
This season, the Illini went 17-7 in Big Ten conference play and finished in a three-way tie with Rutgers and Iowa for second place in the conference standings. Illinois currently owns a 31-20 overall record heading into the conference tournament.
