Maryland beats Illinois 6-2 in Big Ten opener

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Maxwell Costes and Justin Vought each hit two-run homers in the eighth inning and Maryland beat third-seeded Illinois 6-2 on Wednesday in the opener of the Big Ten Tournament.

Michael Massey pulled the Fighting Illini into a 1-1 tie with an RBI single in the fifth inning before Maryland took the lead in the eighth. Costes and Vought drilled homers to left off of reliever Sean Leland (6-3), who took the loss for Illinois (36-19) after allowing four runs in just 21 pitches.

Hunter Parsons (10-3) let up one run and four hits in 7 1/3 innings for the sixth-seeded Terps (29-27). Parsons threw 123 pitches in the win, potentially limiting his availability should Maryland continue to advance.

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