The Illinois baseball team dropped three games of a four-game series with Ohio State at John Davis Stadium over the weekend, falling to 3-5 in the Big Ten and 15-12 overall.

While I was unable to attend the games because of Mom’s Weekend and the DI’s lack of money to get me there, I was able to follow the games on the Internet and did some serious examinations of each game’s box score.

Here’s what I found.

1. Ohio State might put a ton of money into its athletic facilities, which are without a doubt the best in the Big Ten, but not even the Buckeyes can stop the rain. Friday’s series opener was postponed because of rain, forcing the teams to play doubleheaders on both Saturday and Sunday. Ernie Banks would be proud.

2. When the Illini score first, they usually win. When they score second, the game is often up for grabs. Since an early season loss to Western Carolina, the Illini are 7-0 when scoring first. They are only 8-11 when scoring second, including six-straight losses.

3. Senior closer Matt Whitmore has been dealing. The reigning Big Ten Pitcher of the Week has appeared in nine games, amassing a 1-0 record with six saves. In the first game of Sunday’s doubleheader, Whitmore was brought into 6-6 sixth-inning jam and successfully recorded the final out to preserve the tie. He was then left in the game and pitched a scoreless seventh, eighth and ninth inning as the Illini held on for an 8-6 win. His current ERA is a miniscule 0.63.

4. Ohio State starter Dan DeLucia might be one of, if not the best, starters in the Big Ten. In Saturday’s opener, DeLucia went all nine innings, allowing only one run on six hits as the Buckeyes beat Illini ace Brian Blomquist 4-1. Blomquist was a first-team all-Big Ten starter last year and could very well be on his way to another first-team performance this year, but he’s going to have to go through the 5-1 DeLucia to do it.

5. Senior Jake Stewart has pitched his way into the Illini starting rotation. After throwing four innings of three-hit, two-run ball in Illinois’ 7-2 loss to Western Michigan last week, head coach Dan Hartleb gave Stewart the chance to start in Sunday’s series finale. Stewart’s final stat line might not have looked that great, six innings, six earned runs on 10 hits, but the right hander did keep the Illini in the game before finally breaking down in Ohio State’s six-run seventh.

6. Good pitching will always beat good hitting. The age-old adage might be corny, but it’s still true. When pitchers are on their game, as the Buckeyes staff appeared to be, they will overpower anybody who comes to the plate. I mean, Greg Maddux might turn 40 on Friday and he might not break 85 on the gun anymore, but when he throws like he did last Friday, not even Prince Albert can hit him.

7. Writing a story about a game you didn’t go to isn’t nearly as fun as being there.

Lucas Deal is a junior in Communications and can be reached at [email protected].