University of Illinois
Concordia Chicago
No. 22/25 Illini Set for Massey vs. Massey Showdown
March 27, 2018 | Baseball
| No. 22/25 Illinois (15-5) vs. Concordia Chicago (12-3) | |
|---|---|
| When | March 28 at 4 p.m. CT |
| Where | Champaign, Ill. | Illinois Field |
| Tickets | Free |
| Live Video | FightingIllini.com (Free) |
| Radio | Fighting Illini Sports Network | WDWS AM-1400 |
| Live Stats | FightingIllini.com |
| Notes | Illinois | Concordia Chicago |
| Shop | Online Store | Auctions | Publications |
| Social Media | @IlliniBaseball  | #Illini | @IlliniBaseball  | Facebook  | YouTube  |
| Probable Starting Pitchers | |||||||||
| Day | Illinois | Concordia Chicago | |||||||
| Wed. 4 p.m. | RHP Ryan Kutt (0-1, 12.00) | RHP Adam Schmitt (1-0, 0.93) | |||||||
Preview
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. -- The No. 22/25 Illinois baseball team is set to host Concordia Chicago in a matchup of brothers Wednesday at Illinois Field. Illinois second baseman Michael Massey and Concordia's Andrew Massey are brothers and the sons of Keith Massey, a former Illini player, and Lisa Massey.
Sophomore Michael Massey is hitting .337 with two homers and 16 RBIs for Illinois, while senior Andrew Massey is batting .355 with 16 RBIs for Concordia.
Illinois (15-5) is coming off a weekend sweep of Northwestern and is off to one of its best starts in modern program history. The Illini are ranked as high as No. 12 in the nation by Collegiate Baseball Newspaper.
Concordia (12-3) is ranked No. 5 in the nation by D3baseball.com. The Cougars advanced to last season's Division III World Series.
The game will count towards both teams' record and statistics. It will not count towards either teams' RPI, a factor in NCAA tournament selection.
The matchup was finalized 28 hours before the scheduled first pitch after Illinois was rained out Tuesday at Bradley and the Braves already had a game scheduled for Wednesday. The Illini chose to schedule a new midweek game instead of taking the week off.
A video stream will be provided for free on FightingIllini.com with Dave Loane's WDWS radio call.
Notes
• Illinois has won 14 of its last 16 games.
• Illinois is ranked No. 22 in the nation by Baseball America, No. 25 by D1Baseball and No. 12 by Collegiate Baseball Newspaper.
• Illinois was 29th in the RPI to start the week.
• Illinois is outscoring its opponents by 2.65 runs per game (6.95-4.30).
• 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 .986.
• Illinois is fifth in the nation in doubles per game (2.65). USF leads the nation at 2.96.
• Illinois is 11-0 when leading after four innings.
• Illinois is 12-2 when scoring first.
• Illinois is 13-1 when scoring five or more.
• Illinois has scored in 36 percent of innings, including scoring 2+ in 18 percent of innings and 3+ in 12 percent.
• Illinois leads the Big Ten and is 23rd in the nation in home runs per game (1.15).
• Illinois is issuing 3.90 walks per game after allowing 5.33 walks per game in 2017.
• Illinois in the last 16 games: 14-2 record, .292 team batting average, .488 team slugging percentage, 70 extra-base hits (49 doubles, 2 triples, 19 homers), outscored opponents 122-66 (7.63-4.13)
• Illinois is right at the pace for the team record for doubles. The record is 153 set in 1998, so at the current pace (2.65) the Illini would need to play 58 games this season to eclipse the mark.
• Two of Illinois' top five players in the lineup have reached base in every game this season: No. 2 hitter Ben Troike and No. 5 hitter Michael Massey. Troike's and Massey's reached base streaks are both 25 games when going back to last season.
• Bren Spillane is the Big Ten leader in nearly every major offensive category and ranks in the top 20 in the nation in eight categories (Big Ten/NCAA): .461 batting average (1/5), .528 on-base percentage (1/14), 1.000 slugging (1/2), 12 doubles (1/7), 9 home runs (1/10), 31 RBIs (1/17), 1.75 hits per game (1/15), 76 total bases (1/4)
• Bren Spillane's last two weeks: 8 games, .621 (18-29), 6 HR, 5 2B, 16 RBI, 41 total bases, .703 on-base percentage, 1.414 slugging percentage, Big Ten Player of the Week (March 19), D1Baseball.com Player of the Day (March 21), NCBWA National Player of the Week (March 27)
• In a four-game span March 17-21, Spillane had a three-homer game at SIU (first Illini since Casey Fletcher vs. SIU in 2014) and an eight-RBI game against CSUN (first Illini since Christ Robinson vs. MacMurray in 2004).
• Ryan Thompson is tied for the national lead in wins (5-1) along with 30 others in Division I baseball.
• Closer Joey Gerber, who has been up to 97 MPH, is 12th in the nation and tied for the Big Ten lead with six saves.
• The Illini have won four straight Big Ten Player of the Week awards for the second time in program history.
» Spillane (3/26): 9-14, 3 HRs, 10 RBIs in four games, including 2 HRs, 8 RBIs vs. CSUN
» 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
• Illinois is the second team in Big Ten history to win four straight Big Ten Player of the Week awards. The only other team to accomplish the feat is Illinois' 2015 squad, which won the last four of the season April 27-May 18, 2015 (Casey Fletcher, David Kerian, Jason Goldstein, Kerian).
Up Next
Illinois hosts Iowa for a weekend Big Ten series Friday-Sunday.
