University of Illinois
Cal State Northridge
CSUN Visits Illinois Field Wednesday
March 20, 2018 | Baseball
| No. 24 Illinois (11-5) vs. CSUN (9-10) | |
|---|---|
| When | March 21 at 1 p.m. CT |
| Where | Champaign, Ill. | Illinois Field |
| Tickets | Free |
| Live Video | BTN2Go ($) |
| Radio | Fighting Illini Sports Network | WDWS AM-1400 |
| Live Stats | FightingIllini.com |
| Notes | Illinois | CSUN |
| Shop | Online Store | Auctions | Publications |
| Social Media | @IlliniBaseball  | #Illini | @IlliniBaseball  | Facebook  | YouTube  |
| Probable Starting Pitchers | |||||||||
| Day | Illinois | CSUN | |||||||
| Wed. | RHP Ryan Kutt (0-1, 18.00) | RHP Blake Schriever (1-0, 1.00) | |||||||
SCHEDULE CHANGE
Note: The game has been moved to 1 p.m. CT after originally being scheduled for 4:30 p.m. CT.
PREVIEW
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. -- The Illinois baseball team hosts Cal State Northridge for a midweek matchup Wednesday at Illinois Field. It will be the first meeting between the two teams in program history.
CSUN (9-10) is in the middle of a Midwest Spring Break tour. The Matadors were swept at Ohio State last weekend, visit Champaign Wednesday and travel to Missouri State for a weekend series Friday-Sunday before heading back to California.
No. 24 Illinois (11-5) has won 10 of its last 12 games thanks to hot hitting. The Illini are hitting .302 as a team during the 12-game stretch and have a .506 team slugging percentage while outscoring opponents by nearly four runs per game (8.00-4.08).
The matchup will be streamed on BTN2Go and available on WDWS radio and the Fighting Illini Sports Network with Dave Loane on the call.
NOTES
• Illinois is ranked No. 24 in the nation by Baseball America and No. 22 by Collegiate Baseball Newspaper. The Illini are unranked in the D1Baseball.com poll. Illinois is 37th in the RPI.
• Illinois is outscoring its opponents by 2.75 runs per game (7.06-4.31).
• Illinois' five losses have been by a combined nine runs. No loss has been by more than two runs.
• Illinois is seventh in the nation in fielding percentage (.984). USC leads the nation at .993.
• Illinois is fifth in the nation in doubles per game (2.75). Tennessee Tech leads the nation at 3.05.
• Illinois is 9-0 when leading after four innings.
• Illinois is 9-2 when scoring first.
• Illinois is 10-1 when scoring five or more.
• Illinois leads the Big Ten and is 24th in the nation in home runs per game (1.13).
• Illinois is issuing 3.92 walks per game after allowing 5.33 walks per game in 2017.
• Illinois in the last 12 games: 10 wins, .302 team batting average, .506 team slugging percentage, 56 extra-base hits (40 doubles, 2 triples, 14 homers), seven errorless games, outscored opponents 96-49 (8.00-4.08)
• Illinois is right at the pace for the team record for doubles. The record is 153 set in 1998, so at the current pace (2.75) the Illini would need to play 56 games this season to eclipse the mark.
• Three of Illinois' top five players in the lineup have reached base in every game this season: Leadoff man Zac Taylor, No. 2 hitter Ben Troike and No. 5 hitter Michael Massey. Troike's and Massey's reached base streaks are both 21 games when going back to last season. Taylor's streak is 26 games when counting his final season at Houston (2016).
• Bren Spillane ranks (Big Ten/NCAA): .887 slugging (1/4), .419 batting average (2/33), 55 totals bases (2/25), 9 doubles (1/21), 6 homers (2/32), 21 RBIs (4/72), 7 steals (5/100)
• Ryan Thompson is tied for the ninth in the nation in wins (4-1). Indiana's Cal Krueger (5-1) is the only reliever in the nation with more wins than Thompson.
• Closer Joey Gerber, who has been up to 97 MPH, is 34th in the nation with four saves.
• Illinois beat three of the last six NCAA champions in a span of four games Feb. 24-March 3. Feb. 24 vs. Coastal Carolina (2016), March 2 vs. UCLA (2013), March 3 vs. Arizona (2012)
• The Illini have won three straight Big Ten Player of the Week awards for the third time in program history.
» Spillane (3/19): 9-15, 3 HRs, 6 RBIs in four games, including 8-10 doubleheader and three-HR game at SIU
» Turchin (3/12): Reached 12 of 15 times during three games in Greenville, S.C. (5 hits, 7 walks)
» Massey (3/5): DQ Classic/Big Ten-Pac-12 Challenge MVP after hitting .500 in three wins
• The Illini are the fourth team ever to have three different players win Big Ten Player of the Week before the end of March, joining Indiana in 2014 (Kyle Schwarber, Casey Rodrigue, Dustin DeMuth), Purdue in 2011 (Barrett Serrato, Angelo Cianfrocco, Tyler Spillner) and Indiana in 2005 (Joe Kemp, Jay Brant, Zach Boswell).
• This is the third time in program history Illinois has won three straight Big Ten Player of the Week awards. Joe Bonadonna, Casey McMurray and Brandon Wikoff won it back-to-back-to back in 2008 and Casey Fletcher, David Kerian, Jason Goldstein and Kerian again won it four straight weeks in 2015.
UP NEXT
Illinois opens Big Ten play this weekend with a trip to Northwestern.
