| Probable Starting Pitchers |
| Day |
Illinois |
Iowa |
| Thu., 6 p.m. CT |
RHP Ty Weber (2-6, 5.16) |
RHP Nick Gallagher (7-1, 2.33) |
| Fri., 6 p.m. CT |
RHP Cyrillo Watson (3-4, 5.92) |
LHP Ryan Erickson (2-3, 3.30) |
| Sat., 1 p.m. CT |
RHP Matthew James (1-1, 5.15) |
TBA |
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. -- The Illinois baseball team finishes the regular season Thursday-Saturday with a three-game series against visiting Iowa. Lou Boudreau Day and the Bleacher Bum BBQ are scheduled for Friday with Senior Day on Saturday.
Illinois (22-26, 8-13 Big Ten) is still alive in the hunt for seventh or eighth place in the Big Ten standings, the cutoff for the Big Ten Tournament, but needs help around the league. Purdue and Northwestern both control their own destinies and Michigan State is also ahead of Illinois.
No matter what happens around the league Friday, an Illinois win in Game 1 of the series against Iowa would keep the Illini's tournament hopes alive for Friday. Friday will be a big day at Illinois Field with Lou Boudreau Day and the Bleacher Bum BBQ on the schedule. The first 500 fans will get free Hickory River starting at 5 p.m. and a pregame ceremony for Lou Boudreau will being around 5:45 p.m.
Iowa (32-18, 13-8 Big Ten) has clinched a spot in the Big Ten Tournament and is still in the running for the conference title. The Hawkeyes entered the week at No. 96 in the NCAA RPI, the seventh-best ranking in the Big Ten. They are led by slugger Jake Adams, who belted his league-leading 20th and 21st home runs of the season Tuesday in a 9-8 win over Omaha.
All three games of the series will be streamed for free on FightingIllini.com.
NOTES
• Illinois leads the nation in double plays per game with 1.17.
• The Illini rank 32nd in the nation and second in the Big Ten in home runs per game (1.10). Indiana leads the Big Ten with 1.18 homers per game.
• Illinois is 5-4 against the top four in the Big Ten: 1. Minnesota (2-1), 2. Nebraska (DNP), 3. Michigan (1-2), 4. Maryland (2-1)
• Illinois went 11-7 in April after going 2-5 in February and 5-11 in March. Illinois is off to a 4-3 start in May.
• Illinois is 16-10 since March 31 after a 6-16 start to the season.
• Illinois is 20-10 when allowing fewer than seven runs.
• Illinois has won 11 of its last 15 two-run games. The Illini are 13-12 in games decided by two or fewer runs.
• 365 1/3 of Illinois' 422 1/3 innings pitched have been by freshmen or sophomores (86.5%).
• 304 of Illinois' 433 hits have been by freshmen or sophomores (70.2%). True freshmen have 103 hits, all by Michael Massey and Ben Troike.
• 31 of Illinois' 53 home runs have been by freshmen or sophomores (58.5%).
• Illinois has outhit opponents or hits have been even in 29 of 48 games. The Illini are 20-9 in those games.
• Jack Yalowitz is on a career-long 10-game hitting streak.
