Saint Louis baseball fell to No. 23 Illinois 4-1 on Tuesday afternoon.

The Billikens jumped out to an early lead in the third inning, but the Fighting Illini tacked on runs in the fourth, sixth and eighth on their way to victory.

Centerfielder Corrigan Bartlett had three of the team's five hits on the day, finishing the game 3-4. He brought his season average up to .300 with Tuesday's performance.

Freshman catcher Cam Redding reached base five times and extended his hit streak to eight games, going 1-1 with four walks.

Jake Garella's eight-game hitting streak was snapped against the Illini.

Senior pitcher Jackson Wark started the game for the Billikens, throwing three innings, giving up no hits and striking out three. He lowered his season ERA to 1.45.

Ryan Patel entered the game in relief of Colin Townsend, and he threw 2.1 innings, giving up one unearned run and striking out one.

Sean O'Brien only needed five pitches to get through the ninth in his lone inning out of the bullpen.

The Billikens are back in action Wednesday afternoon at 3:00 p.m. for game two of the series at Billiken Sports Center.