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May 10, 2009

Box Score

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. - Center fielder Joe Bonadonna (Buffalo Grove, Ill.) and third baseman Dominic Altobelli (Oak Forest, Ill.) finished their Illinois Field careers with a bang, combining to go 4-for-7 with two home runs, five RBIs and three runs, but No. 25 Illinois dropped a 12-7 decision to No. 27 Ohio State in front of 1,450 fans after the Buckeyes scored seven runs in the middle innings. Illinois is now tied for second in the Big Ten standings with the Buckeyes, both sitting one-half game behind Minnesota, which dropped a 10-4 game at Michigan on Sunday. In addition, fourth-place Indiana is only one-half game behind the Illini and OSU, and a full game behind the Gophers.

"Our guys have done a good job of battling back all year," Illinois head coach Dan Hartleb said. "But we need to make better pitches than we did today. Now we just have to put this one behind us and come ready to play next weekend. There's still a lot that can happen in those three games."

Bonadonna posted a stellar weekend in his final home series, going 6-for-10 (.600) with a team-high seven RBIs, two doubles and a home runs for a 1.100 slugging percentage, three runs and five walks for a .733 on-base percentage. He had two hits in each game and drove in at least one run in each game.

"We played our hearts out, but we just didn't take advantage of enough situations today," Bonadonna said. "It's always a good series with Ohio State and they got the hits when they needed them this weekend. Our home fans were great this weekend and throughout my career. It's been the best five years of my life."

Illinois got on top with a pair of first-inning runs. Bonadonna walked and, one out later, came around to score on a double to the right-center gap by shortstop Brandon Wikoff (Peoria, Ill.). Wikoff moved to third on Altobelli's single and came home on a sacrifice fly by catcher Aaron Johnson (Sussex Corner, New Brunswick) for a 2-0 lead.

But Ohio State got a run in the fourth on a one-out double by catcher Dan Burkhart and a two-out RBI single by third baseman Justin Miller. The Buckeyes then posted a five-spot in the fifth on five hits and two walks, including a two-run homer by shortstop Tyler Engle, to jump ahead 6-2.

Illinois started to fight back after Ben Reeser (Bloomington, Ill.) relieved starter Bryan Roberts (Lisle, Ill.) and got out of the fifth, and Altobelli cranked a solo homer down the left-field line to cut the deficit to 6-3 in the bottom half of the inning.

OSU tacked on a run in the sixth after two walks and an RBI single up the middle, but Illinois continued to battle with a two-run bottom half. Right fielder Pete Cappetta (Lisle, Ill.) drew a one-out walk and, after an out, second baseman Josh Parr (Chillicothe, Ill.) singled up the middle. Bonadonna came through with a clutch double to the gap in right-center on a 1-2 pitch to bring home both runners and slice the margin in half, making the score 7-5 in the Buckeyes' favor.

Reliever John Anderson (Mt. Vernon, Ill.) took over for Reeser in the seventh and worked around a two-out base hit in a nine-pitch scoreless frame. First baseman Matt Dittman (Libertyville, Ill.) roped a two-out double to left-center in the bottom of the inning, but that only prompted Ohio State coach Bob Todd to make the call to his bullpen for Buckeye closer Jake Hale, who got out of the inning with a strikeout.

Anderson got a flyout to Bonadonna and a pop-out to Wikoff in the eighth before OSU began to figure him out. After a base hit and a hit batter, Burkhart doubled to left-center to bring in two runs, DH Ryan Dew knocked a two-run homer to left-center and Miller hit a solo shot to left-center for a five-run inning that put the Buckeyes up 12-5.

Illinois once again battled back in the bottom half of the eighth when DH Willie Argo (Davenport, Iowa) singled to center and was put out on a fielder's choice by Parr. Bonadonna stepped up and ripped a 2-2 pitch out to left field for a two-run homer, his second career dinger - both against OSU - to cut the margin to 12-7. But the Illini couldn't rally further either in the eighth or ninth as the Buckeyes held on for the 12-7 victory and Hale earned his 13th save on the year.

Up Next: Illinois has this week off for final exams before heading to Purdue on Wednesday for the season's final Big Ten series. The three-game set begins Thursday at 3 p.m. (CT), with games on Friday and Saturday both starting at noon.