The MSU baseball team (34-23 overall, 14-10 Big Ten) was eliminated from the Big Ten tournament in a 2-0 loss to Illinois (47-7-1 overall, 21-1 Big Ten) on Friday night.
The Spartans were the first to get a hit registered when senior infielder Ryan Richardson hit a single to lead off the second. Freshman outfielder Brandon Hughes followed with a bunt single, but three straight outs ended the threat for MSU.
With two outs in the third, Illini sophomore infielder Adam Walton was walked, junior infielder and outfielder Ryan Nagle reached on an error and senior infielder Reid Roper was walked to load the bases.
A single from Illini junior catcher Jason Goldstein scored two unearned for Illinois. MSU junior pitcher Anthony Misiewicz was replaced by sophomore pitcher Walter Borkovich with a final line of 2.2 innings pitched, giving up just two hits and two unearned runs.
Borkovich was excellent in his relief efforts, going 6.1 innings and giving up just two hits with no runs. However, the team couldn't produce hits when it mattered most.
MSU held a 6-4 advantage in the hit column, despite the loss. Poor defense doomed the Spartans; the team had three errors, one of which led to two unearned runs that won the game for the Illini.
The team will now hope they have done enough to secure a berth in the NCAA tournament. The field will be announced Monday at noon on ESPNU.
The updated Big Ten tournament bracket via the Big Ten Network Twitter:
Congrats to @IlliniBaseball on the win. With the victory, Saturday's @B1Gbaseball Tournament bracket is set! pic.twitter.com/cWPtC8xkzo
— Big Ten Network (@BigTenNetwork) May 23, 2015
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