| Probable Starting Pitchers |
| Day |
Illinois |
Bradley |
| Tue. 6 p.m. CT |
RHP Snarskis (0-1, 8.03) |
LHP Gosswein (4-3, 2.42) |
PREVIEW
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. -- The Illinois baseball team takes its three-game winning streak to Peoria to face Bradley in a Tuesday matchup at Dozer Park, home of the Peoria Chiefs. The game is set for a 6 p.m. CT start.
Illinois (25-13, 6-6 Big Ten) has lost two straight games against Bradley (24-12, 4-5 Missouri Valley) after last winning in Peoria in 2017. Bradley hit six home runs to beat 12-8 Illinois at Illinois Field last Tuesday.
The Illini rebounded from last week's midweek loss to sweep Penn State over the weekend in three one-run games. Illinois' RPI bumped up to No. 26 in the nation, one spot ahead of No. 27 Indiana for the top ranking in the Big Ten.
Quinn Snarskis, Illinois' Opening Day starter, is set to make his first start since March 4 after battling an injury. Bradley, which dropped two of three games at Dallas Baptist last weekend, will start lefty Brooks Gosswein in a planned bullpen game.
Dave Loane has the radio call on the Fighting Illini Sports Network. No video stream will be available.
NOTES
• Illinois has lost two straight games against Bradley, including a 12-8 loss last Tuesday at Illinois Field.
• Illinois is visiting Dozer Park for the first time since 4/25/17 when the Illini beat Bradley 8-6. The Illini scored five runs in the eighth inning, started by a leadoff double by Tyler Engel. The scoring was capped on a first-and-third double steal that had Mark Skonieczny steal home for his first career stolen base.
• Bradley is second in the nation in ERA (2.68), behind only Georgia (2.57)
• Illinois is No. 26 in the RPI, one spot ahead of Indiana for the best in the Big Ten.
• Zac Taylor leads Illinois with six homers despite missing 14 games with an injury (he has played in the last eight games). Taylor is one of only 17 players in the nation with 6+ homers and 14+ stolen bases. The other 16 players on the list all have at least 30 more at-bats than Taylor.
• Michael Massey, a Preseason All-American, was unable to play defense for the first 28 games of the season due to an injury. Massey started the first 28 games at DH and homered in three straight games 3/9-3/16/2019. He returned for three games in the field, then missed two games at Minnesota, but is now back to the lineup again.
• Michael Massey recorded career RBI No. 100 Sunday against Penn State on a sac fly in the third inning.
• Garrett Acton leads the Big Ten and ranks second in the nation in saves (13).
• Andy Fisher is eighth in the Big Ten in innings (59.1), batting average against (.211) and strikeouts (62).
• Ty Weber is 11th in the Big Ten in ERA (2.79) and 12th in batting average against (.215).
• Grant Van Scoy is on a career-long 21-game reached base streak. Van Scoy is hitting .359 (28-78) during the 21-game streak with four doubles, one triple, two homers, 10 RBIs and a .438 on-base percentage.
• Illinois leads the Big Ten and ranks eighth in the nation in fielding percentage at .980, slightly ahead of last year's single-season program record of .979.
• Illinois leads the Big Ten and ranks eighth in the nation in hits allowed per nine innings (7.0).
• Illinois has a fielding percentage of .986 in Big Ten games (six errors in 12 games).
• Illinois is second in the Big Ten in batting average (.285) and ranks third in ERA (3.38).
• Illinois is 24-5 when allowing six or fewer runs.
• Illinois is 24-6 when scoring four or more runs.
• Illinois is 12-3 at home and 10-8 on the road.
• Illinois is 22-6 when leading or tied after four innings.
• Illinois is 8-3 in one-run games.
• Illinois is 3-1 against ranked teams (D1Baseball Poll).
• Illinois' bullpen has a .178 batting average against, 3.36 ERA and 162 strikeouts in 142 innings pitched this season.
• Opponents are hitting .197 with runners in scoring position against Illinois this season (70/355).
• Illinois is outscoring opponents 31-7 in the first inning. Illinois has allowed only four earned runs in the first inning for a 0.95 team ERA in the opening frame. Andy Fisher has yet to allow a first inning earned run.
UP NEXT
Illinois is on the road again this weekend, traveling to Nebraska for a three-game series Friday-Sunday.
