It was the worst way Bryan Roberts’ tenure at Illinois could have ended.

An inside-the-park home run from Jordan Parr had put the Illini ahead 3-2 over Georgia Tech. Roberts was in position for the win. He had already gotten one out in the eighth inning — a deep, foreboding flyout to the 35-foot-high fence in the left field corner of Hawkins Field in Nashville, Tenn.

Three outs away from a second date with top-seeded Vanderbilt later last Sunday, Roberts could not hold on for the Illini and allowed four runs, as Georgia Tech’s late rally was enough to eliminate Illinois with a 6-3 win.

The game ends the season, and Roberts’ five years at Illinois, with a crushing loss.

“I feel bad for Bryan,” Illinois head coach Dan Hartleb said. “I think Bryan had given up four runs all year, he turns around and gives up four today. He’s a guy you want out there, and I’d put him out there again. If we had another game, I’d put him out there again.”

In that ninth, Tech second baseman Thomas Smith lined a single to right field, before a groundout put him in scoring position. Leadoff man Kyle Wren squeezed a pitch into right field under first baseman David Kerian’s glove to plate the tying run. A double exacerbated things for Illinois, as Tech now had runners on second and third. Roberts walked a red-hot Daniel Palka, and Zane Evans singled in another run before a sacrifice fly completed the scoring for the Yellow Jackets.

Freshman Ryan Castellanos had started the game for the Illini and provided them with the type of performance they needed, going 5 1/3 innings with two runs allowed on eight hits, two strikeouts and one walk.

Illinois struck first in the second inning. A leadoff walk got Jordan Parr aboard, and he was singled over to second by Brandon Hohl. After a sacrifice bunt by Kerian, Reid Roper single plated Parr for the game’s first run.

Jordan Parr and his brother Justin teamed up in the fourth to add to the Illinois lead. Justin singled with two outs to bring up Jordan, then stole second before Jordan hit him home. Jordan Parr was picked off trying to steal second to end the inning.

Castellanos ran into trouble in the sixth inning, allowing two singles to lead off the inning before a double by Evans put Georgia Tech on the board. After notching a strikeout, a double off the wall tied the game. Evans did not score, as he held to potentially tag up before the ball caromed off the wall. Drasen Johnson came in to relieve Castellanos for Illinois, and induced a pop-up and groundout to keep the game tied, with two runners stranded in scoring position for the Yellow Jackets.

Evans came into pitch relief and got a big strikeout off Justin Parr to end the seventh inning. He followed his big strikeout at the plate with a liner into center field to begin the Georgia Tech eighth. Evans was retired, however, on a throw from Jason Goldstein to catch him stealing. Roberts came on for Johnson to get the final out of the eighth.

Leading off the eighth inning, Parr took a first pitch fastball deep to the gap in right-center. The two outfielders converged on the ball and collided, as center fielder Brandon Thomas slid under a charging Palka, and both players wound up in pain on the turf.

“I kinda hit it off the end of my bat, so I’m just thinking if it falls, I’m just trying to get the extra base,” Jordan said. “I look up and (third base coach Eric) Snider’s just waving that arm like crazy, so I kept going.”

He jetted around second and rounded third as Smith sprinted out from the infield to the wall to retrieve the ball. There was no play at the plate as Parr slid in with his third home run of the regional, this one giving Illinois a crucial 3-2 lead.

Illinois back-to-back singles after Parr’s jaunt, but could not plate either runner, which would cost them when Georgia Tech rallied.

“I wouldn’t even use the word ‘disappointing,’” Justin Parr said of the season. “We have a very demanding program, and that’s a good thing. … For a northern team, I feel like we did a good job. We expect ourselves to win those games, no doubt, and we could’ve won both those games. We competed with some of the top competition in the country.”

Georgia Tech went on to lose to Vanderbilt in an elimination final on Monday. The Commodores lost in the super regional round to the Louisville Cardinals.

For Illinois, making the NCAA tournament is an improvement on last season and a step in the right direction. 

But to compete at the level at which Hartleb wants, the team will need to make the NCAAs a yearly destination.

“I think we’re building a very strong program,” Hartleb said. “This is an expectation of mine, to play in the NCAA tournament on a regular basis. I think it should be an expectation, not a goal.”

Eliot can be reached at [email protected] and @EliotTweet.