The Ohio State baseball team presented Illinois with its toughest competition yet during its winning streak.

But the Illini battled through the obstacles the Buckeyes presented to sweep their conference foe in Columbus, Ohio, and extended their nation-leading win streak to 21 games.

“We’re winning in different phases of the game. Everything’s clicking,” outfielder Casey Fletcher said. “It seems like every game someone is just stepping up and helping us to keep up the winning.”

Illinois was forced to rally from a two-run deficit early in Sunday’s game. First baseman David Kerian led the comeback with a leadoff home run in the third. The team took the lead in the top of the fourth when Kerian drove a single up the middle to score Fletcher and Jason Goldstein, giving the Illini a 3-2 lead. They added three more runs in the sixth to put the game away for good.

Starting pitcher John Kravetz got into some trouble early in the game. He allowed two runs in the first two innings but managed to escape the third and fourth without allowing a run. The senior was struggling, and with no midweek game left on the schedule this season, head coach Dan Hartleb elected to go with regular midweek starting pitcher Rob McDonnell at the start of the fifth.

The left-hander held the Buckeyes scoreless for four innings and closer Tyler Jay came in the ninth to secure the win and the streak.

“Everyone knew what we had to do,” Kerian said. “I just got out there and made sure to get the key at-bats.”

The Illini were led Friday by starting pitcher Kevin Duchene’s strong performance. The Illini ace threw eight innings and only gave up one run on three hits. Ohio State’s first hit was a single in the fourth and the Buckeyes tacked on two more in the fifth, but the junior shut the side down in order in six of his eight innings. With Friday’s win, Duchene improved to 8-1 on the season and 21-3 in his career.

Everyone in the Illinois’ starting lineup had a hit. Illinois scored four runs in the first two innings and plated an additional four in the sixth. The eight runs allowed was a career-high for Ohio State’s Tanner Tully. Left fielder Ryan Nagle led the way hitting 2-for-5 with three RBIs.

Saturday’s tilt was much closer, and the Illini barely escaped with their streak intact. The team overcame two deficits and scored all of its runs in two innings to bring its streak to the 20-win mark.

Illinois pitcher Drasen Johnson fell behind early and gave up two runs in the first two innings Saturday. The Illini grabbed a 3-2 lead in the fifth on an Adam Walton two-run single, but the Buckeyes retook the lead with two runs in the bottom of the frame.

Their lead was short-lived — center fielder Will Krug tied the game in the sixth when he singled home a run and third baseman Ryne Roper and Walton each drove in a run to give Illinois a 6-4 lead. Ohio State tacked on a run in the seventh off of reliever J.D. Nielsen, and Jay came in and held Ohio State scoreless in 2 1/3 innings and only allowed one hit.

With Sunday’s win, Illinois secured a program-record 15th-straight Big Ten victory and stands alone atop the Big Ten standings. The team is three wins shy of tying the season-leading winning streak that Texas set earlier this season. With no midweek game, the team will need to keep up the intensity during practice this week as it prepares for Rutgers next weekend.

“We need to keep playing the way we’re playing. We can’t take anything for granted,” Fletcher said. “We’re not a team that’s going to lay back, and we’re here to make a statement to the rest of the NCAA.”

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