University of Illinois
Indiana
Illinois and Indiana Face Elimination
May 25, 2018 | Baseball
| Illinois (32-19) vs. Indiana (38-16) | |
|---|---|
| When | Friday, May 25 at 7:30 p.m. CT |
| Where | Omaha, Neb. | TD Ameritrade Park |
| Tickets | Ticketmaster |
| Live Video | Big Ten Network (All Tournament Games) |
| Radio | Fighting Illini Sports Network | WDWS AM-1400 |
| Live Stats | Big Ten Tournament Central |
| Notes | Illinois (updated) |
| Shop | Online Store | Auctions | Publications |
| Social Media | @IlliniBaseball  | #Illini | @IlliniBaseball  | Facebook  | YouTube  |
| Probable Starting Pitchers | |||||||||
| Day | Illinois | Indiana | |||||||
| Fri. 7:30 p.m. CT | RHP Ty Weber (4-3, 3.62) | LHP Tim Herrin (5-0, 2.84) | |||||||
PREVIEW
OMAHA, Neb. -- The Illinois baseball team meets Indiana for the second time in three days Friday at 7:30 p.m. CT at the Big Ten Tournament. The winner advances to Saturday's semifinal at 1 p.m. CT against Purdue, while the loser is sent home to await its NCAA Tournament fate.
Illinois (32-19) got to this point by beating Indiana 7-1 in the tournament opener Wednesday, before falling 3-0 to Minnesota last night. The Illini have a 2.12 ERA and .193 batting average against for the tournament but have only nine hits and two for extra bases in 58 at-bats.
Indiana (38-16) had an improbable comeback win Thursday to beat Michigan State 6-5 in 10 innings. Matt Gorski hit a long three-run home run to tie the game 5-5 with two outs in the ninth, then Indiana won it with a flare single by Wyatt Cross in the 10th.
According to the major college baseball publications, the Hoosiers are safely in the NCAA Tournament, while the Illini are on the bubble. A win Friday would result in a 3-2 season series win over Indiana and could go a long way in an NCAA Tournament bid. A loss would probably still keep Illinois in the RPI's top 50, a number that is many times good enough to get Big Ten teams with quality wins in the tournament.
Friday's pitching matchup is a rematch of the Sunday, April 29 game in Bloomington, Indiana, that Illinois lost 9-2. Illinois will throw Ty Weber (4-3, 3.62 ERA) Friday against Indiana lefty Tim Herrin (5-0, 2.84 ERA).
The winner will have to sweep a doubleheader from Purdue to reach Sunday's 1 p.m. CT championship game.
All Big Ten Tournament games will be broadcast live on Big Ten Network. Dave Loane and Jeff Huth will have the radio call on the Fighting Illini Sports Network and WDWS 1400-AM.
NOTES
• Illinois is 30-36 all-time in the Big Ten Tournament with four titles (1989, 1990, 2000, 2011).
• Illinois is 2-2 all-time in the Big Ten Tournament against Indiana.
• Illinois is 9-9 vs. Indiana since 2012.
• Illinois is 117-79-1 all-time against Indiana.
• Illinois is at No. 48 in the RPI after starting the week at No. 50.
• Illinois is 6-6 against the RPI top 50 and 10-11 against the top 100.
• Illinois has 10 fewer errors than any other Big Ten team (Illinois 39, Minnesota 49).
• Illinois is second in the Big Ten in homers (60) and slugging percentage (.442) behind Indiana (61 and .446).
• Illinois is 24-0 when leading after seven innings, 23-1 when leading after four innings and 18-2 when leading after three innings.
• Illinois is 21-5 when scoring first.
• Illinois is 9-5 in one-run games.
• Illinois is 31-11 when scoring three or more runs.
• Ben Troike has reached base in all 51 games this season. His current reached base streak is 56 dating back to the final five games of last season, the longest active streak in the nation.
• Bren Spillane is the Big Ten leader in batting average, slugging, OBP, OPS, homers, RBIs and total bases. He ranks third in runs, fourth in doubles, 13th in steals and 14th in hits.
• Bren Spillane current ranks in Illinois single-season history: 2nd slugging (.906), 2nd home runs (22), 2nd Big Ten home runs (10), t-3rd on-base percentage (.498), 4th total bases (154), 4th Big Ten total bases (67)
• Bren Spillane's 22 home runs are the second most in Illinois history behind Josh Klimek's 26 in 1996.
• Bren Spillane's 154 total bases are the fourth-most in Illinois history. Josh Klimek owns the record of 188 in 1996.
• Bren Spillane is currently slugging .906. The last NCAA player to finish a year with a slugging percentage over .900 was in 2009 when Bryce Brentz of Middle Tennessee State slugging .930.
• Bren Spillane could break the Big Ten single-season record for slugging (.913, Darrin Fletcher, Illinois, 1987).
• Bren Spillane is one of 25 semifinalists for the Golden Spikes Award.
• Joey Gerber, who has been up to 97 MPH, is t-7th in the nation with 14 saves. His 14 saves are tied with Tyler Jay's 2015 season for the most in an Illinois season.
• Joey Gerber's 21 career saves are tied for third-best in Illini history (Tyler Jay 24, Jeff Richards 23, Jeff Innis 21).
THURSDAY, MAY 24 - Minnesota 3, Illinois 0
Recap | Box
• Minnesota's Reggie Meyer threw a three-hit shutout in 106 pitches. He only faced 31 batters and stuck out eight.
• Andy Fisher tied for Illinois' season-high with nine strikeouts (Ty Weber at Indiana, April 29, 2018).
• Illinois was shutout for the first time since Feb. 18, 2018 against Austin Peay (L, 2-0).
WEDNESDAY, MAY 23 - Illinois 7, Indiana 1
Recap | Box
• Illinois held Indiana to tying season lows in runs (1) and hits (2).
• Michael Massey hit a three-run homer off of LHP B.J. Sabol, who entered the game with a .059 (2-34) batting average against when facing lefties.
• Illinois only struck out twice against Indiana ace Jonathan Stiever, the Big Ten leader in punch outs, after he struck out six of the first eight batters in the teams' first meeting.
• Illinois retired eight of nine Indiana leadoff hitters and held the Hoosiers hitless with runners on (0-8).
• Ryan Thompson won for the eighth time, one away from tying Minnesota's Brett Schulze for the Big Ten lead.
