ROSEMONT, Ill. - For the third week in a row, an Illini earned Big Ten Player of the Week honors, announced the conference office Tuesday. Junior catcher Jason Goldstein led Illinois to its sixth straight Big Ten series sweep and a 24-game winning streak by hitting .583 (7-for-12) with two home runs and nine RBI in three wins over Rutgers.
In Sunday's series finale, Goldstein's second career grand slam propelled the Illini to their biggest comeback win on the year. Trailing 9-5 in the fourth inning, he tied it up 9-9 with one swing of the bat, as the Illini went on to win 28-13. His career-best 5-for-5 day helped the Illini score 28 runs, which is tied for the seventh-most single-game runs in program history.
During the doubleheader sweep on Saturday, he turned in five RBI on the day with three in game one and a go-ahead two-run homer in the first inning of game two.
Goldstein picked up the conference's weekly award for the second time this season, as he also won it on April 7. Seniors David Kerian (May 4) and Casey Fletcher (April 27) collected the laurel each of the past two weeks. Illinois is tied with the 2005 Fighting Illini for the second-most plaudits in a season behind the school-record five in 2009.
Illinois, which also racked up four Big Ten Pitcher of the Week honors this year, has totaled a program-record eight Big Ten weekly awards which leads the conference in 2015. The previous season-high was seven in 2009.
Illinois' Four Big Ten Player of the Week Awards in 2015
April 7 - Jason Goldstein
April 27 - Casey Fletcher
May 4 - David Kerian
May 12 - Jason Goldstein
Illinois' School-Record Four Big Ten Pitcher of the Week Awards in 2015
Feb. 16 - Rob McDonnell
March 9 - Tyler Jay
March 23 - Kevin Duchene
April 7 - Kevin Duchene
2015 Fighting Illini Baseball
• Illinois is off to its best start in school history with a 43-6-1 record. The Illini's 43 wins are tied for third on the program's all-time list. The school record for victories is 49 in 1982.
• Illinois boasts the No. 1 winning percentage (0.870) in NCAA Division I Baseball and has the fewest losses (6). The Illini are tied for first in the nation with 43 wins.
• UI has won a program-record 18 straight Big Ten tilts and sit in first place atop the conference standings at 19-1, marking Illinois' most wins during a 24-game Big Ten season, which began in 2009. The school record for Big Ten victories in a 32-game season is 20 in 2005.
• Illinois' magic number to win the Big Ten Championship is two. Iowa is in second place at 18-3. The Illini have clinched a Top 2 seed in the Big Ten Tournament.
• Illinois is on a school-record 24-game winning streak, which is the longest active winning streak in the country and tied with Texas A&M for the longest streak in 2015.
• The NCAA record winning streak of 34 is owned by Texas (1977) and Florida Atlantic (1999). The longest winning streak by a Big Ten team is 26 by Nebraska (1983).
• Illinois has outscored its opponents 200-84 during its 24-game winning streak. The Illini boast a .314 average and 2.71 ERA during that span. UI has overcome a deficit in 15 of the games and has 21 total comeback wins on the year.
• UI's 14-game home winning streak is tied for the longest active streak in the nation. The Illini also boast the longest active road winning streak (10) and best road record (17-2-1) in the nation.
• Illinois is ranked No. 2 in this week's Collegiate Baseball poll, marking the highest ranking in program history. It is the fifth straight week the Illini are ranked in the Top 10.
• UI is a consensus Top 5 team in every poll this week, checking in at No. 3 by Perfect Game, No. 4 by Baseball America and No. 5 in the USA TODAY Coaches Poll, on D1Baseball.com, and by the NCBWA.
• UI sits in the Top 4 in the nation in four pitching categories: No. 3 in walks allowed per nine innings (2.03), No. 4 in WHIP (1.10) and No. 5 in ERA (2.48) and strikeout-to-walk ratio (3.67).
Up Next: No. 2 Illinois will close the regular season with a three-game series against Nebraska at Illinois Field from May 14-16. Thursday's game will begin at 6 p.m., while the final two games will be televised live by Big Ten Network with a 6 p.m. start on Friday and 2 p.m. first pitch on Saturday.
