| Probable Starting Pitchers |
| Day |
Illinois |
Western Michigan |
| Tue., 6 p.m. CT |
RHP Cole Bellair (2-2, 7.99) |
LHP Jacob Piechota (2-2, 5.31) |
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. -- Western Michigan visits Illinois Field Tuesday for the Illinois baseball team's last home game before an eight-game road swing. First pitch is scheduled for 6 p.m. CT.
Illinois (14-19, 3-6 Big Ten) has won eight of its last 11, including a series win over Northwestern last weekend. The Illini hit .300 as a team in the series including six hits from Doran Turchin and five apiece from Dan Rowbottom, Pat McInerney and Jack Yalowitz.
Western Michigan (14-17, 4-8 MAC) and the Illini will meet for the first time since 2010. Illinois has won three straight over the Broncos and 20 of 32 overall.
The Broncos snapped a seven-game losing streak Sunday with an 11-2 win against Central Michigan. Tanner Allison leads the club with a .391 batting average, eight homers and 47 RBIs.
NOTES
• Illinois has won eight of its last 11 games and four of its last five.
• The Illini have been able to win close games of late. While going 8-3 in the last 11, Illinois has been outscored 58-57. All eight wins have been decided by three or fewer runs and seven of eight have been decided by two or fewer.
• Illinois has won seven straight two-run games. The Illini are 9-8 in games decided by two or fewer runs.
• Illinois Director of Football Operations Tim Knox is scheduled to throw the first pitch Tuesday. Knox, who worked at WMU from 1997-2011, was named 2016 Football Operations Director of the Year by Football Scoop.
• 257 2/3 of Illinois' 292 innings pitched have been by freshmen or sophomores (88.2%).
• 209 of Illinois' 295 hits have been by freshmen or sophomores (70.8%). Freshmen have 64 hits, all by Michael Massey and Ben Troike.
• Illinois has outhit opponents or hits have been even in 20 of 33 games.
• Illinois is 6-16 when scoring six or fewer runs. Six of the last eight wins have come with six or fewer runs.
• Pat McInerney NCAA ranks: home runs per game (21st, 0.33); home runs (24th, 11); slugging percentage (41st, .654); total bases (65th, 83). He is second in the Big Ten in homers and slugging. McInerney has already surpassed his home run total from last year (7) with 11 homers in 2017. He has 24 career home runs (freshman 1, sophomore 5, junior 7, senior 11).
• Jack Yalowitz Big Ten ranks: batting average (3rd, .360), runs batted in per game (3rd, 1.00), slugging percentage (3rd, .632), triples (3rd, 3), total bases (5th, 79), home runs (7th, 7).
UP NEXT
Illinois has a big weekend ahead with a trip to Purdue scheduled for Friday-Sunday. The Boilermakers sit in the eighth spot of the Big Ten standings, the cutoff line to make the Big Ten Tournament, and Illinois is three games back.
