| Probable Starting Pitchers |
| Day |
Illinois |
Minnesota |
| Sun. G1 |
LHP Fisher (3-1, 3.35) |
RHP Meyer (3-1, 1.64) |
| Sun. G2 |
RHP Weber (2-1, 1.74) |
RHP Stevenson (1-1, 4.64) |
| Mon. |
RHP Watson (3-1, 3.82) |
RHP Culliver (2-2, 5.05) |
WEATHER ALTERS SCHEDULE
Illinois and Minnesota are planning to begin their series with a doubleheader Sunday (start time to be announced Saturday). The series will finish Monday afternoon (exact start time announced later).
Big Ten Network is still scheduled to televise a game Sunday at 1:30 p.m. CT, which could be Game 1 or Game 2 of the series.Â
Blizzard conditions throughout the state of Minnesota made it impossible to schedule games for Friday or Saturday. The Illini were forced to change their travel plans and are scheduled to fly Friday night before practicing indoors Saturday.Â
PREVIEW
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. -- The Illinois baseball team makes a trip to Minneapolis for three games Sunday-Monday at Siebert Field.Â
Illinois (20-11, 1-5 Big Ten) still sits at No. 26 in the RPI, the best ranking of any Big Ten team, despite a slow start in Big Ten play. Illinois' No. 39 strong strength of schedule, including No. 19 in nonconference games, has kept the Illini near the top of college baseball's most important rankings.
Minnesota (14-16, 6-3 Big Ten) was the Big Ten's preseason favorite by many publications but got off to a 2-11 start to 2019. The Gophers have gone 12-5 since March 11 with Big Ten series wins over Penn State and Nebraska. Minnesota dropped two straight at Michigan last weekend to lose the series after taking the Friday game.
Minnesota is led by one of the top two-way players in the country in Game 1 starter Max Meyer, who is 3-1 with a 1.64 ERA. Meyer is batting .311 on the year and hit a walk-off homer Tuesday to beat North Dakota State in the Gophers' last time out.
Dave Loane has the call for all three games on the Fighting Illini Sports Network.Â
NOTES
• Illinois has won four straight series at Minnesota (2006, '08, '13, '17).
• Illinois swept a doubleheader from Minnesota in their last trip to Siebert Field 4/29/2017. Jack Yalowitz homered in both games of the doubleheader.
• Michael Massey is a career .389 hitter (7-18) against Minnesota, including a homer and three RBIs in four games.
• Jack Yalowitz tied a career high with four hits Tuesday at Illinois State, including three doubles. He was the first Illini to hit three doubles in a game since Casey McMurray at Indiana 5/21/2010.
• Illinois' 13-inning loss Tuesday at Illinois State was the longest game in the 89-game series between the two teams.Â
• Illinois leads the Big Ten in fielding percentage at .978, barely below last year's single-season program record (.979).
• Illinois has a fielding percentage of .985 in Big Ten games (three errors in six games).
• Illinois is second in the Big Ten in batting average (.289) and ERA (3.37), behind Michigan in both categories.
• Illinois is 17-7 on the weekends (Fri.-Sun.) and 3-4 during the week (Mon.-Thur.).
• Illinois is 19-4 when allowing six or fewer runs.
• Illinois is 19-4 when leading or tied after four innings.
• Illinois is 9-2 at home and 8-7 on the road.
• Illinois is 3-1 against ranked teams (D1Baseball Poll).
• Opponents are hitting .199 with runners in scoring position against the Illini (58/292).
• Illinois is outscoring opponents 20-6 in the first inning and 11-7 in the ninth inning.
• Grant Van Scoy is hitting .425 (17-40) during a career-long 11-game hitting streak.
• Garrett Acton leads the Big Ten in saves and ranks second in the nation (10).
• Zac Taylor is tied for the Big Ten lead in steals (13) despite missing 14 games with an injury.
• Ty Weber ranks fifth in the Big Ten in ERA (1.74) and sixth in opponent batting average (.200).
• Andy Fisher ranks fifth in the Big Ten in strikeouts (51).
• Michael Massey ranks eighth in the Big Ten in hits (36).
UP NEXT
Illinois is home all of next week. The Illini host Bradley for a midweek game Tuesday, then Penn State comes to Champaign for three games Friday-Sunday.
