| Probable Starting Pitchers |
| Day |
Illinois |
Opponent |
| Fri. vs. UCLA |
RHP Quinn Snarskis |
UCLA - RHP Jake Bird |
| Sat. vs. Ariz. |
LHP Andy Fisher |
Ariz. - LHP Avery Weems |
| Sun. vs. Wash. |
RHP Ty Weber |
Wash. - RHP Jordan Jones |
SCHEDULE
Friday
11 a.m. - Illinois vs. UCLA
3 p.m. - Michigan State vs. Washington
7 p.m. - Arizona vs. Minnesota
Saturday
11 a.m. - Michigan State vs. UCLA
3 p.m. - Illinois vs. Arizona
7 p.m. - Washington vs. Minnesota
Sunday
10 a.m. - Michigan State vs. Arizona
2 p.m. - Illinois vs. Washington
6 p.m. - Minnesota vs. UCLA
PREVIEW
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. --Â U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis, the host of Super Bowl LII, will welcome Illinois to the DQ Classic this weekend. Illinois will take on UCLA, Arizona and Washington at the event, which also features Big Ten teams Minnesota and Michigan State.
Illinois (3-3) got back to .500 overall with two straight wins last weekend, first beating Coastal Carolina before a victory over VCU.
"We made pitches when we had to and came up with clutch hits," said head coach Dan Hartleb. "We had to piece things together a little bit."
The Illini's defense has been the bright spot through six games, while the hitting and pitching have gone through some early up-and-downs. Illinois has committed just two errors to rank tied for fifth in the nation and lead the Big Ten with an impressive .991 fielding percentage.
Two consistent contributors on offense have been Ben Troike and Bren Spillane, who have eight and nine hits, respectively. Spillane is slugging a team-best .739, while Troike has hit safely on all six games.
All three games will be broadcast live on the Fighting Illini Sports Network and WDWS 1400-AM with Scott Beatty on the call.
No. 11 UCLA (7-1)
UCLA swept Portland to open the year and took two of three against Baylor during the second weekend of action. The Bruins have added midweek wins over Pepperdine and most recently Cal State Fullerton. Right-hander Jake Bird, a highly-touted draft prospect, will start against Illinois.
Arizona (5-3)
Arizona lost two of three last weekend at the Tony Gwynn Classic, falling to Arkansas and San Diego State before a win over Michigan. Preseason All-American Alfonso Rivas leads the Wildcats, batting .333 with a homer and 10 RBIs in the season's first eight games.
Washington (4-3)
The Huskies opened the season with a four-game split against Sacramento State before taking two of three from UC Riverside. Right-hander Joe DeMers threw an 84-pitch perfect game last Saturday to beat UC Riverside, 8-0, the fifth perfect game in Pac-12 history and the first in Washington's program history.
SEASON PREVIEWS
• Pitchers Preview (Feb. 13)
• Infielders Preview (Feb. 14)
• Outfielders Preview (Feb. 15)
HARTLEB PRESEASONÂ INTERVIEWS
• Hartleb with Scott Beatty (Feb. 8)
• Hartleb with Brian Barnhart (Feb. 11)
• Hartleb with Jeremy Werner (Feb. 14)
NOTES
• Illinois travels to Minneapolis with a 3-3 overall record after a 2-2 trip to Coastal Carolina last weekend in which the Illini scored 26 runs and allowed 26 runs. Illinois split with Coastal, lost to West Virginia and beat VCU.Â
• Bren Spillane led Illinois with seven hits (7-16, .438) and seven RBIs in four games last weekend. He was a home run away from the cycle in the first game against Coastal Carolina, hit a grand slam and had two hits against West Virginia and added two more hits against VCU.
• In a four-game span, Illinois will face three of the last six NCAA champions. Feb. 24 vs. Coastal Carolina (2016), March 2 vs. UCLA (2013), March 3 vs. Arizona (2012)
• Illinois' defense has made only two errors in the first six games. The Illini are tied for fifth in the nation and lead the Big Ten with a .991 fielding percentage.
• Illinois ranks tied for 26th in the nation in home runs per game (1.33).
• Reliever Ryan Thompson was the most impressive Illini on the mound at Coastal. He threw in two games, totaling 4.0 innings, while allowing only one hit (.077 batting average against) and not surrendering a run. Thompson got the win in relief in Illinois' Sunday game against VCU.
• The Illini were struck with travel issues during opening weekend, causing them to cancel a previously scheduled trip to Lamar to take on Lamar and Missouri State. Instead, Illinois played South Dakota State and Austin Peay in a doubleheader Feb. 18 at Saint Louis University. Illinois was supposed to play South Dakota State the previous day, as well, but that game was rained out.Â
UP NEXT
Illinois goes to Greenville, South Carolina, to take on Furman and Michigan State (twice) at Fluor Field next weekend.
