Hawkeyes Fall to Illinois in Series Finale

IOWA CITY, Iowa – The University of Iowa baseball team fell to Illinois, 6-2, in the final game of the series on Sunday afternoon at Duane Banks Field.

“I thought Illinois played well overall today,” said head coach Rick Heller. “Defensively, they didn’t give us a good chance to get going throughout the game. There weren’t a lot of opportunities, but when Illinois needed to make plays, they made them, and they just didn’t give us any free bases to get going.”

Illinois struck first with a three-run home run in the top of the second inning. The Fighting Illini added their second homer of the contest in the top of the third to extend their lead to 4-0.

Iowa responded in the bottom of the third. Redshirt sophomore Jaixen Frost tripled and was driven home moments later when redshirt junior Jaylen Ziegler lifted a sacrifice fly to deep right field, putting the Hawkeyes on the board.

Frost continued his strong day at the plate in the bottom of the eighth, launching a solo home run to pull Iowa within two runs.

Illinois later added two insurance runs in the top of the ninth to seal the victory.

OF NOTE
- Frost has homered in back-to-back games.
- Iowa had won its last three series.
- Iowa is 7-5 on Senior Day under head coach Rick Heller.

UP NEXT
The Hawkeyes return to action for their final home game on Tuesday against St. Thomas at 6:02 p.m. The game will be streamed on B1G+ and broadcast on the Hawkeye Radio Network.