PEORIA, Ill. — Fighting Illini baseball (18-19) led late but ultimately fell, 7-6, to Bradley (13-23) on Tuesday night at Dozer Park.
Illinois jumped out to a quick 2-0 lead in the first when Ryan Moerman lined a ball back up the middle on an 0-2 count with the bases loaded and two outs.
The Braves evened up the contest their first time to the plate, but the Illini quickly regained the lead in the second through a two-out RBI-single off of the bat of Branden Comia. Once again, the hosts were up to the task in the home half, scoring once to make it a 3-3 game.
Illinois took the lead again in the fourth, starting the inning with a lead-off double from Christian Smith, who was brought home via an RBI-single by Cal Hejza. Hejza would make it a 5-3 ballgame when he scored on a wild pitch later in the frame. Bradley would scratch a run across in the home half of the inning to keep it a one-run game.
The Illini would push the advantage back to two in the sixth when Drake Westcott doubled into the right-center gap to bring in Camden Janik, making it 6-4. The Braves again had an answer, scratching a run across the plate to make it 6-5 after six.
The two sides traded scoreless seventh innings, with Gabe Helder and John Lundgren combining to strike out the side after the stretch. Helder, making his first appearance since Feb. 19 at Wake Forest, struck out the first-two batters he faced for the first punchouts of his collegiate career.
After the…
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