What you need to know about Illinois baseball
May 23—Illinois will play Indiana at 2 p.m. Tuesday in the first round of the double-elimination Big Ten tournament in Omaha, Neb. Getting a shot to play for a return trip to Omaha and the College World Series will only come with a tournament title. Staff writer Scott Richey spotlights five items you need to know
before play starts at Charles Schwab Field Omaha:
Last chanceIllinois finished the regular season exactly .500 — both overall and in Big Ten play. The Illini (25-25, 12-12) earned the No. 7 seed in the conference tournament thanks in large part to Purdue losing two of three at Nebraska last weekend. Michigan State tied Illinois in the Big Ten standings, but the Illini's sweep of the Spartans — their only series win in league play — served as the tiebreaker.
GoING yardPower hitters were in ample supply this spring for Illinois. Four Illini hit double-digit home runs in the regular season, with Drake Westcott's 18 the most on the team and good enough for fifth in the Big Ten. Jacob Schroeder has 14, Ryan Moerman and Branden Comia have 12 apiece and both Camden Janik (nine) and Cam McDonald (eight) could get there in Omaha.
GOING StreakingCount on Comia getting the "swing away" sign from Illinois coach Dan Hartleb this week. The fifth-year third baseman is in the midst of an 11-game hitting streak. Comia isn't just getting on base, either. He's batting .408 with four home runs, five doubles and 13 RBI in that span. That includes a grand slam — his second of the year — in Saturday's regular-season finale win agianst UT Martin.
Mound miscuesStarting pitching has not been a strength for Illinois this spring. None of the Illini's primary starters — Jack Wenninger, Riley Gowens, Julius Sanchez and Jack Crowder — boast an ERA below 4.00. Wenninger, who is set to get the start on Tuesday against the Hoosiers, has the lowest at 4.62. Gowens has the best strikeout-to-walk ratio at 71:13, but his ERA has ballooned this season to 5.93, and opponents are batting .283 against him.
First up
Illinois dropped two of three games against Indiana at home in mid-April. The Illini won the series opener 7-5 thanks to a three-run home run from Schroeder in the eighth inning and a hitless, scoreless inning of relief from Joe Glassey in the ninth. The Hoosiers responded with a 6-4 win in game two and a 16-3 victory in the series finale that saw them hit three home runs.
