UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - No. 8 Illinois produced its second straight 10-1 final for its 15th consecutive win on Friday night against Penn State in Happy Valley. Senior David Kerian launched his first career grand slam over the wall in center and redshirt-senior Reid Roper crushed a homer out of the park, as both Illini finished with four RBI.
"They hit those balls a long way," head coach Dan Hartleb said. "David absolutely blasted that ball. It was one of the hardest balls I've ever seen hit. He hammered that. Reid also came up with the big one. Kyle Hudson told me the (Penn State) first and second basemen were talking and said they have never seen one hit over that right field porch. Those were monster shots."
Illinois maintained the longest active winning streak in the nation (15) and best start in program history at 34-6-1. The 15-game winning streak is tied with UC Irvine for the second longest in the NCAA this season and one shy of the UI single-season record (16) from 1989 and 1959.
The Illini remained in first place in the Big Ten at 11-1 and have won 10 straight conference games for the first time since 1990. Illinois also improved to 11-2-1 on the road, which is the third-best road record in the NCAA.
Reid Roper, who was one of four Illini with two hits, started the scoring with an RBI single in the first. Kerian also had two hits and singled in the second before later scoring on sophomore Ryne Roper's sacrifice fly.
With two outs and nobody on in the third, junior Jason Goldstein extended his career-best hitting streak to 15 games followed by a double from senior Casey Fletcher and walk to sophomore Pat McInerney that loaded the bases. Kerian then provided a 6-0 cushion with his Big Ten-leading 10th homer to clear the bases.
After Penn State pushed across an unearned run for its lone tally in the third, Reid Roper's sacrifice fly and Goldstein's RBI groundout made it 8-1 in the fourth.
The Orange and Blue had their first inning without a hit in the fifth, while Reid Roper drilled a mammoth shot over the bleachers in right field with two outs in the sixth to tie his career high with four RBI. Illinois posted double-digit runs for the ninth time this season.
Starter Kevin Duchene (7-1) continued his impressive season with five strikeouts and no walks over six innings. The junior improved to 20-3 in his career, which is the fourth-best winning percentage in school history and tied for the ninth-most wins.
The bullpen wrapped things up with two scoreless stanzas by Andrew Mamlic and one from Charlie Naso.
Up Next: No. 8 Illinois will play Penn State in game two at 1 p.m. on Saturday at Medlar Field at Lubrano Park. Due to travel arrangements, the series finale between the Illini and Nittany Lions on Sunday was moved up to a 9 a.m. CT start.
