| Illinois vs. Ohio State | |
|---|---|
| When | May 3-5 |
| Where | Champaign, Ill. (Illinois Field) |
| Live Video | B1G+ | Fri. | Sat. | Sun. |
| Radio | WDWS AM-1400 // FightingIllini.com |
| Live Stats | FightingIllini.com |
| Notes | Illinois | Ohio State |
| Shop | Online Store | Auctions |
| Social Media | @IlliniBaseball  |@IlliniBaseball  | Facebook  | YouTube  |
| Probable Starting Pitchers | |||||||||
| Day | Illinois | OhioState | |||||||
| Fri. 6 p.m. CT | RHP Jack Crowder (4-1, 4.83) | LHPLandon Beidelschies (4-7, 4.43) | |||||||
| Sat. 3 p.m. CT | LHP Cooper Omans(4-1, 4.44) | LHP Gavin Bruni (3-2, 5.67) | |||||||
| Sun. 1 p.m. CT | TBD | RHP Gavin DeVooght(2-1, 2.76) | |||||||
PREVIEW
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. -- Illinois baseball continues its seven-game homestand as it returns to Big Ten play with a three-game series vs. Ohio State. First pitch in Friday's series opener is set for 6 p.m. CT.
The Orange and Blue are coming off a midweek victory over No. 24 Indiana State, defeating the Sycamores in a run-rule walk off, 21-11, in seven innings. Ryan Moerman had a huge game at the plate, slugging three homers and driving in nine.
RHP Jack Crowder (4-1, 4.83) is set to get the start on Friday, with LHP Cooper Omans (4-1, 4.44) set to follow in the rotation. Sunday's starter is to be determined.
WEEKEND PROMOTIONS
A full weekend of promotions ison deck for the weekend. The 14th annualBleacher Bum Barbecue, the premier promotion for Fighting Illini baseball, will be held Friday. The event has been a staple on the Illini schedule, as the previous 11editions have drawn average crowds over 2,000 to Illinois Field, including an all-time high of 5,214 in 2009. Free BBQ for the first 500 fans and there will be a post-game fireworks show. Fireworks will be staged on the track & field throwing area.Gameday parking will be unavailable in here on Friday.
Saturday is Honor & Serve Day. The event is designed to honor University of Illinois student veterans and all of America's military heroes, including those servingthe Champaign-Urbana community. For the 10th time, the Illini will be wearing special commemorative jerseys. The jerseys will be available for auction two hours prior to first pitch on Saturday (11 a.m. CT). All proceeds from the auction willbenefit Champaign, Urbana and UIPD Shop with a Cop programs.
During Sunday's finale, the third Fighting Illini baseball card set will given out while supplies last.
SERIES HISTORY
vs. OhioState
- Record: 104-109-2 (H: 55-48, A: 45-57-2, N: 4-4)
- Last: L, 9-15 (4/30/23 at Columbus, Ohio)
- First series in Champaign since 2018
- Illini have gone 3-7 in last 10 matchups
NOTES
WEEKEND ACTION VS. OHIOSTATE
Illinois baseball continues its seven-game homestand with a weekend series vs. Ohio State.
All three contests can be streamed on B1G+.
Scott Beatty will call the action on Friday and Sunday, while Mike Reis has the call on Saturday for the Illini on the Busey Bank Illini Sports Network (1400 AM/93.9FM). Streaming, audio, and stats links are also available at FightingIllini.com.
ABOUT THE OPPONENT
Ohio State enters the ballgame 22-20, coming off of a pair of midweek wins over Cincinnati and Akron. The Buckeyes have gone 8-12 in true road games this season and they currently have a 7-8 record in Big Ten play.
INF Henry Kaczmar leads Ohio State at the plate with a .335 average to go along with seven doubles, two triples, six home runs and 31 RBI. Among starters, LHP Landon Beidelschies leads on the mound, going 4-7 with a 4.43 ERA (30 ER/61.0 IP) to go along with 66 strikeouts in 11 games, starts.
Ohio State went 31-25 (9-15) last season, taking two of three from the Illini in Columbus.
ALL-TIME SERIES INFO
The Illini are 104-109-2 all-time against the Buckeyes, including 55-48 at Illinois Field. The two programs are meeting in Champaign for the first time since 2018.
The Orange and Blue are 3-7 in the last 10 contests, dating back to 2018.
MIDWEEK ROUND-UP
Illinois got back into the win column in a big way, earning a 21-11 run-rule, walk-off victory in seven innings over No. 24 Indiana State.
For the second time this season, the Illini slugged at least seven home runs, pushing their season total to 83. Ryan Moerman (3 HR) and Cal Hejza (2 HR) each had multi-homer performances, with Moerman driving in a career-high nine runs. Six different Illini also delivered multi-hit games.
Connor Milton's walk-off solo shot in the seventh was the first in his career and the second walk-off blast by the Illini this season.
Illinois also scored 18 of its 21 runs with two outs.
HOME SWEET HOME
Illinois improved to 16-1 at Illinois Field after Tuesday's 21-11 victory over Indiana State and have now won 13-straight games at home, tied for the second-longest active home winning streak in the country.
The Illini also went 8-0 during its season-long homestand from April 9-23.
After sweeping Northwestern from April 19-21, the Illini have also now won 12-straight Big Ten home games dating back to last season, three series sweeps, which is the longest such streak since the Orange and Blue won 18-straight such games from May 2, 2014, to March 26, 2016.
Illinois went 11-8 at home during the 2023 campaign.
The Fighting Illini also won their home opener 12-2 over Eastern Illinois at Illinois Field on Feb. 27. Illinois is now 8-3 in its last 11 home openers and the 12 runs scored are the most since also scoring 12 in the 2021 home opener vs. Northwestern.
MOONSHOT MO
Ryan Moerman had a huge game at the plate on Tuesday vs. No. 24 Indiana State, going 4-for-5 with three runs, three home runs and nine RBI.
Moerman hit a two-run homer, three-run homer and a grand slam, falling just a solo blast shy of completing the home run cycle.
The junior set career-best marks in hits, runs, home runs, RBI and total bases (13). He is the third Illini this season to have a three-homer game and he is just the third player in program history to have at least nine RBI in a game, just one shy of matching the program leader.
Moerman enters the weekend with 15 home runs on the season, which leads the Big Ten.
Q
Coltin Quagliano turned in another solid game at the plate on Tuesday vs. No. 24 Indiana State, going 3-for-4 with three runs, a home run and three RBI.
The Kewanee, Ill., native extended his career-long hitting streak to 20 games and has gone 37-for-78 (.474) with six doubles, six home runs and 29 RBI during that span. He also has multi-hit performances in 12 of those 20 games to boost his season average from .229 to .348.
Quagliano leads the team with 47 RBI on the year, which is seventh-most in the Big Ten. During his current hitting streak, he has drove runs in 16 of 20 games, including 14 games with an RBI in his last 16.
A MILLY
Connor Milton continued to perform at the plate, going 2-for-3 with two runs, a double, home run, an RBI and two walks on Tuesday vs. No. 24 Indiana State.
Milton also went 4-for-9 (.444) with four runs scored, a home run, an RBI and three walks for an overall slash of .444/.583/.667 on April 26-28 at Maryland.
Milton saw his career-high four-game hitting streak snapped on April 26, but has still reached base safely in eight-straight games.
The Champaign native crushed his first-career walk-off home run against the Sycamores on Tuesday, which now gives him six round-trippers in his last 30 at-bats. Milton had no home runs in the first 101 at-bats to begin his Illini career.
Milton is now slashing .349/.446/.683 on the year in 36 games, 16 starts, to go along with 18 runs, 22 hits, six home runs and 13 RBI. All of those figures are career-best marks.
JANIK JAMS
Camden Janik continued his hitting prowess on Tuesday vs. No. 24 Indiana State, going 2-for-3 with four runs and two walks. He also had another big weekend at Maryland, going 7-for-12 with three runs, five RBI, a walk and was hit by a pitch twice. Janik posted an overall slash of .583/.667/.583, collecting at least two hits in each contest.
The junior extended his hitting streak to eight games and has gone 16-for-32 (.500) during that span with two doubles, a home run and 11 RBI. He has multi-hit performances in six of those contests, raising his season average from .356 to .384.
The Wauconda, Ill., native remains the toughest out in the country, striking out just eight times in 164 at-bats. His K AVG. of 20.5 is the best in the nation. His eight strikeouts are the fewest among batters that have taken at least 164 at-bats this season. Janik is the highest ranked catcher in that category.
CALIFORNIA HEJZA
Cal Hejza continues to put together his best season at the plate in his career, after going 2-for-5 with two runs, two home runs and three RBI on Tuesday vs. No. 24 Indiana State.
It was the first multi-home run game of the season for Hejza and the second such game of his career. The senior now has five home runs on the campaign, which matches his single-season high, set in 2022.
Hejza also went 4-for-12 (.333) with four runs scored, a double and three walks from April 26-28 at Maryland. Leading off in all three games of the series for the second-straight weekend, Hejza reached base safely at a .467 clip.
Hejza has hit safely in 21 of his last 25 games overall, which features 10 multi-hit performances. He has also reached base safely in 26-consecutive games, which is the longest active streak on the team.
Hejza has improved his batting average by 92 points from last year, his on-base percentage by 116 points and slugging by 11. The senior has 51 hits this season, which is his best single-season mark.
The Oswego, Ill., native, is ranks second on the team with six three-hit games and ranks third on the team with 15 multi-hit performances overall.
WALK IT OFF
The Fighting Illini earned their third walk-off win of the season on Tuesday, when Connor Milton blasted a solo shot to center in the seventh to earn a 21-11 run-rule victory over No. 24 Indiana State.
Illinois has now surpassed their walk-off win total from the 2023 campaign (3).
COMEBACK KIDS
Illinois came back from an early 1-0 hole on Tuesday vs. No. 24 Indiana State and rallied to win 21-11 in seven innings.
During Illinois' series sweep over Northwestern from April 19-21, the Illini trailed at one point in two of the ballgames. In the series opener on April 19, Illinois overturned a two-run deficit. In the series finale on April 21, the Illini erased a 1-0 deficit.
Illinois has also overcome two 6-0 holes this season, on March 29 vs. Penn State and April 14 vs. Northern Illinois.
In total, the Illini have won 12 games this season in which they have trailed. The Orange and Blue have nine wins at Illinois Field in which their opponent has scored first.
FOUR IS THE MAGIC NUMBER
Illinois slugged seven home runs on Tuesday vs. No. 24 Indiana state, the seventh time this season that the Illini have hit at least four round-trippers in a single game this season.
Illinois had eight such games last season, going 7-1 in those ballgames. Since 2018, Illinois is 18-2 when they hit at least four homers in a single game, including 7-0 this season.
TWO-OUT RALLY
Illinois scored 18 of its 21 runs on Tuesday vs. No. 24 Indiana State with two outs. The Illini went 9-for-15 (.600) with two doubles, six home runs, four walks and one hit by pitch when down to their last out.
Overall, Illinois is batting .321 with 140 RBI with two outs. Connor Milton leads the squad with a .500 average (10-for-20) in those situations.
LEADERBOARD WATCHING
The Illini as a team, and individually, find themselves among conference leaders in numerous categories through 41 games this season.
As a team, the Illini lead Big Ten teams in home runs (83), slugging (.532) and OPS (.941), while also holding top five rankings in total bases (768, 2nd), average (.307, 2nd), RBI (324, 3rd), runs (346, 4th) and have the fifth-fewest fewest strikeouts (294).
On the mound, the Orange and Blue have yielded the fourth-fewest hits (356 and have posted the fourth-lowest WHIP (1.53).
Individually, Camden Janik ranks fifth in average (.384) and sixth in hits (63). Jacob Schroeder ranks second in slugging (.718) and is third in OPS (1.173) while ranking tied-for-fifth in home runs (12). Drake Westcott also ranks tied-for-fifth in home runs (12) and is fourth in walks (37). Ryan Moerman leads all Big Ten hitters in home runs (15).
UP NEXT
Illinois wraps upits seven-game homestand with a three-game set against Big Ten foe Iowa. First pitch in Friday's series opener on May 10 is set for 6 p.m. CT.
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