Illinois drops Big Ten tournament opener
May 22—OMAHA, Neb. — Penn State's lineup put pressure on Illinois every inning and turned 13 hits into an 8-4 victory in the opening round of the Big Ten tournament on Wednesday at Charles Schwab Field.
The Illini (33-18) have now lost eight straight Big Ten tournament games. Wednesday's came without a home run, which snapped a 21-game streak with at least one for the most prolific home run-hitting team in the conference.
Penn State chased Illinois starter Jack Crowder after five innings. Crowder gave up three runs on seven hits and three walks while striking out five. Julius Sanchez and Jake Rons both gave up multiple runs in relief.
The Nittany Lions got a solid start from Travis Luensmann. The 6-foot-6 right-hander allowed just one run on five hits and two walks in five innings while striking out seven.
Illinois scored one run apiece in the fifth, sixth, seventh and eighth innings. Coltin Quagliano's RBI double in the bottom of the eight — his third hit of the day — was the Illini's first (and only) for extra bases in the game.
The Illini will play again at 10 a.m. Friday against the loser of the Michigan-Iowa game.
