University of Illinois
Southern Illinois
Game 44: #6 @IlliniBaseball at Southern Illinois
April 27, 2015 | Baseball
Illini to Play Final Midweek Game in Carbondale on Tuesday at 6 p.m.
| #6 Illinois (36-6-1) at Southern Illinois (10-35) | |
|---|---|
| Game 44 | Tuesday, April 28, 2015 | 6 p.m. CT |
| Location | Carbondale, Ill. | Richard "Itchy" Jones Stadium |
| Mobile Live Stats | Follow on Mobile |
| Gametracker | Follow on Desktop |
| Radio | WDWS AM 1400 (Dave Loane and Matt Wille) |
| Live Audio | Listen Online |
| Live Video | Watch Online |
| Game Notes | Illinois | SIU |
| Tuesday Probables | ILL: r-Sr. LHP Rob McDonnell (5-1, 1.79 ERA) SIU: Fr. RHP Colin Holderman (1-0, 8.85 ERA) |
| Series History | Southern Illinois leads 34-33 |
| Season Series | Illinois leads 2-1 |
| Streak | W2 |
| Interviews | Coach Hartleb | Casey Fletcher |
| Social Media | @IlliniBaseball  | #Illini | @IlliniBaseball  | Facebook  | YouTube  |
Quick Hits
Illinois is off to its best start in school history with a 36-6-1 record. The previous best UI mark after 43 games was 33-10 in 1989 under Augie Garrido.
With 36 wins, the Illini have equaled their eighth-most wins in a season. The school record for victories is 49 in 1982.
Illinois is on a school-record 17-game winning streak, which is the longest active winning streak in the country. It is the second-longest streak in the NCAA this year behind Texas A&M (24).
The Illini are halfway to the NCAA record winning streak of 34 owned by Texas (1977) and Florida Atlantic (1999).
Illinois has outscored its opponents 134-52 during its 17-game winning streak. The Illini boast a .294 average and 2.32 ERA during that span. UI has overcome a deficit in 11 of the games and has 17 total comeback wins on the year.
Illinois also has won 12 consecutive conference games and started Big Ten action 13-1 for the second time in school history. The only other time both those feats were accomplished was in 1911 under head coach George Huff.
The Illini sit in first place atop the Big Ten standings at 13-1.
The Orange and Blue are 8-0 in midweek games and playing their final midweek contest of the season.
Illinois is ranked No. 6 in the Perfect Game Top 25, marking the highest ranking in program history. It is the third straight week the Illini are ranked in the Top 10.
UI also is ranked No. 7 in the USA TODAY Coaches Poll and No. 8 by D1Baseball.com, NCBWA, Baseball America and Collegiate Baseball, meaning Illinois is ranked in all six polls for the sixth straight week.
Illinois boasts the No. 1 winning percentage (0.849) in NCAA Division I Baseball and third-most wins (36) and behind Texas A&M (37-7) and LSU (37-7).
UI sits in the top 10 in the nation in four pitching categories: No. 2 in walks allowed per nine innings (1.88) and No. 3 in ERA (2.29), strikeout-to-walk ratio (4.07) and WHIP (1.09).
The Illini also rank second with 2.9 runs allowed per game, third in the country with a 13-2 road record and fifth with a +3.5 scoring margin.
Illinois leads the Big Ten with 37 home runs and a .424 slugging percentage, while senior David Kerian is tops in the conference with 10 homers.
Four Illini have turned in career-best double-digit hitting streaks this season: David Kerian (18), Ryan Nagle (15), Jason Goldstein (15) and Casey Fletcher (12).
Fletcher is hitting a team-high .397 with 20 runs and 10 RBI during the 17-game winning streak.
Series History with SIU
Illinois and Southern Illinois have played 67 games against each other, with SIU holding a slim 34-33 edge in the all-time series. The Illini took two out of three from the Salukis earlier this season in Champaign (March 13-15). Illinois has won eight of the last 11 meetings.
This Season Against SIU
Illinois won its home-opening series against Southern Illinois after taking the final two games from the Salukis. The Illini shined on the mound over the weekend with a 1.33 ERA and 19 strikeouts while only allowing five runs (4 ER) and one walk. UI also belted a season-high three homers in the finale.
Last Time Out
Illinois capped a perfect weekend in Happy Valley with a 6-3 victory, sweeping Penn State and setting a school record with 17 straight wins. UI swept PSU for the third year in a row and earned its fourth conference sweep in 2015. The Illini powered past Penn State, 10-1, in the opener and outlasted the Nittany Lions 4-2 in 15 innings during game two. That marked the longest game under head coach Dan Hartleb.
UI's Longest Single-Season Winning Streaks
The 2015 University of Illinois baseball team boasts the longest single-season winning streak in school history at 17. The longest winning streak across seasons in Illinois baseball history is 19 games spanning 1909-11.
Home Sweet Home
The Orange and Blue have won 11 consecutive games at Illinois Field and are 17-2 at home this season. The Illini have six more home games scheduled, which would equal the most games played (25) at Illinois Field in a season from 1998.
Hartleb Surpasses 300 Wins
University of Illinois 10th-year head coach Dan Hartleb has coached in 539 games as an Illini and currently ranks fourth in school history with 312 wins. He earned his 300th career win in a 17-2 rout of Northwestern on April 5.
Fletcher B1G Player of the Week
Senior Casey Fletcher was named Big Ten Co-Player of the Week, announced the conference office Monday. Fletcher hit a team-high .500 (8-of-16) with five walks during Illinois' perfect 4-0 week that extended its school record and longest active winning streak in the country to 17.
Fletcher, who shared the honor with Iowa's Jimmy Frankos, brought home the game-winning RBI single in the 15th inning on Saturday at Penn State. He had three multi-hit games and posted a 1.000 fielding percentage in right field. The Oakwood, Illinois, native scored five runs and had three RBI on the week in which Illinois topped Eastern Illinois and swept Penn State.
Fletcher is the second Illini to earn the conference's weekly honor this season, joining junior Jason Goldstein (April 7). It is the second time he has collected the laurel, also doing so last season on May 6 when he was voted National and Big Ten Player of the Week.
Duchene, Jay Among Nation's ERA Leaders
Junior starter Kevin Duchene (0.74) and closer Tyler Jay (0.78) rank second and third, respectively, in the NCAA in ERA. Both Illini hurlers were named to the National College Baseball Hall of Fame initial watch list for the Pitcher of the Year award. Jay also leads the nation in WHIP at 0.63.
