| Probable Starting Pitchers |
| Day |
Illinois |
Opponent |
| Sat. vs. SDSU |
RHP Ty Weber |
SDSU - TBD |
| Sun. vs. SDSU |
LHP Andy Fisher |
SDSU - TBD |
| Sun. vs. AP |
RHP Cyrillo Watson |
AP - RHP Brandon Vial |
SCHEDULE CHANGE
Due to canceled flights for nearly all of Thursday at Midway Airport in Chicago, the Illini were unable to get to Beaumont, Texas, for its series scheduled at Lamar. Instead, Illinois will travel to St. Louis, Missouri, to take on South Dakota State and Austin Peay at Saint Louis University.
Friday
1 p.m. - South Dakota State vs. Austin Peay
Saturday
11 a.m. - South Dakota State vs. Illinois
3 p.m. - South Dakota State vs. Austin Peay
Sunday
11 a.m. - South Dakota State vs. Illinois
3 p.m. - Austin Peay vs. Illinois
PREVIEW
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. -- Illinois begins its 139th season of baseball this weekend with high expectations. A veteran lineup mixed with an improved pitching staff give the Illini excitement entering 2018.
"I think we are capable of being strong 1-9 in the lineup," said head coach Dan Hartleb. "I think we are a team that will have some pop, some gap power, and some guys that can run in the lineup. The lineup is solid top to bottom and very good defensively."
Jack Yalowitz, a 2017 All-Big Ten first team selection, leads the returns and a group of strong outfielders. Along with Doran Turchin and Zac Taylor the Illini will field one of the most talented outfields in all of the Big Ten.
Sophomores Ben Troike and Michael Massey, who combined to start all but one game in the middle infield last year, are back to anchor shortstop and second base, respectively. The combo ranked second in the nation in double plays per game as freshmen and Massey was an All-Big Ten third team pick.
The biggest question mark for Illinois is the pitching staff, although many contributors return from the 2017 squad. Highlighting the returners are weekend starters and sophomores Ty Weber and Cyrillo Watson, who will both get starts this weekend. The Illini return 76% of innings pitched, 83% of wins, and 100% of saves from a year ago.
All three games at Lamar will be broadcast live on the Fighting Illini Sports Network and on WDWS 1400-AM.
This weekend is the start to a challenging Illini schedule in 2018. Illinois visits Coastal Carolina next weekend, a program two years removed from the NCAA title.
SEASON PREVIEWS
• Pitchers Preview (Feb. 13)
• Infielders Preview (Feb. 14)
• Outfielders Preview (Feb. 15)
HARTLEB PRESEASON INTERVIEWS
• Hartleb with Scott Beatty (Feb. 8)
• Hartleb with Brian Barnhart (Feb. 11)
• Hartleb with Jeremy Werner (Feb. 14)
NOTES
• Illinois is coming off a 23-28 season in 2017 in which the team played a majority of young talent.
• 387 1/3 of Illinois' 449 1/3 innings pitched were by freshmen or sophomores (86.2%) in 2017.
• 333 of Illinois' 470 hits were by freshmen or sophomores (70.9%) in 2017. True freshmen had 114 hits, all by Michael Massey and Ben Troike.
• Illinois ranked second in the nation in double plays per game (1.18) in 2017 with freshmen Michael Massey and Ben Troike playing up the middle for nearly every inning.
• Illinois was much better down the stretch in 2017, going 17-12 after March 31 after a 6-16 start to the season.
UP NEXT
Illinois faces Coastal Carolina (twice), West Virginia and VCU next weekend in Conway, South Carolina.
