For the second time in the last three games the Illinois baseball team blew a five-run lead. But unlike its 8-6 win against Ohio State, the Illini weren’t able pull out the win in the end.

Leading 7-2 going into the bottom of the seventh inning, the Illini couldn’t hold the Bradley Braves at bay, allowing the Braves to tie the game and eventually win 8-7.

“I felt we lost the game ourselves, and that they didn’t beat us,” senior first baseman Dave Schultz said. “I thought we could’ve played the game better. We had three unfortunate errors in the field that gave them most of their runs, and besides that, all their runs were from walks.”

The Illini took no time getting on the scoreboard, and with one run already scored and one out, junior designated hitter Chase Kliment doubled to left center to drive in Schultz, giving Illinois a 2-0 lead.

But the Illini weren’t done yet, as sophomore catcher Lars Davis followed Kliment’s double with one of his own, driving in Kliment. Sophomore second baseman Ryan Hastings capped off the four-run first inning by driving in Davis with a single to left.

“We came out in the first inning and put four on the board and were swinging the bats well,” Kliment said. “We got runners on base and moved them into scoring position, and then got key hits. But the bottom line was we just didn’t make the plays we needed, and couldn’t capitalize the rest of the game.”

Illinois would add two more runs in the fifth inning to extend its lead to 6-2 over the Braves, and then add another run in the sixth on an RBI double by junior third baseman Mike Rohde to extend the Illini lead to 7-2.

The five run lead, however, would not last long for the Illini. Bradley pushed across five runs in the bottom of the seventh to tie the game 7-7, ruining freshman pitcher Aaron Martin’s chance at winning his second straight start for the Illini. Martin pitched three innings and gave up one run on two hits.

“I thought Aaron did a good job,” head coach Dan Hartleb said. “He is maturing as a pitcher and getting better each and every outing. I am pleased with his progress.”

Bradley completed its comeback in the bottom of the ninth, scoring the winning run on a throwing error by Rohde with two outs to win the game, 8-7.

The loss extended Illinois’ three-game losing streak to Bradley and dropped the Illini record to 15-13, 3-5 Big Ten. Illinois returns home this weekend for a four game series against surprising Big Ten leader Northwestern (9-17, 6-2 Big Ten).

“It’s very important we put this game behind us and move on,” Schultz said. “We need to have a solid day of practice before our game on Friday night, and we need to come out and play hard against Northwestern.”