| Probable Starting Pitchers |
| Day |
Illinois |
Opponent |
| Wed. 9 a.m. CT |
LHP Fisher (7-1, 2.65) |
UMD - RHP Parsons (9-3, 3.62) |
| Thu. 9 a.m./5 p.m. |
TBA |
Michigan or Ohio State |
PREVIEW
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — The No. 20 Illinois baseball team travels to Omaha, Nebraska, this week for the 2019 Big Ten Baseball Tournament at TD Ameritrade Park. The Illini are the No. 3 seed and will face No. 6-seeded Maryland in the tournament's opener Wednesday at 9 a.m. CT.Â
Illinois (36-17, 15-9 Big Ten) is making its 23rd Big Ten Tournament appearance and will look for its fifth tournament title (1989, 1990, 2000, 2011). The conference's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament goes to the winner of the eight-team, double-elimination Big Ten Tournament.Â
The Illini have an opportunity to add to its already strong NCAA Tournament resume. Illinois' RPI is at No. 22 with help from its 11-5 record against the top 50, the No. 5 winning percentage in the nation against the top 50. The Illini are squarely on the bubble to host an NCAA Regional in Champaign as one of the top 16 teams in the nation.
Illinois' Wednesday matchup with Maryland (28-27, 12-12 Big Ten) gives the Illini a chance to avenge one of its only series losses of the season. Andy Fisher will get the ball against Maryland's Hunter Parsons, a rematch of the two teams' Friday game on April 5, when Maryland rallied with four runs in the ninth to beat Illinois 4-2 at Illinois Field.Â
The winner of Illinois vs. Maryland will face the winner of No. 2 seed Michigan vs. No. 7 seed Ohio State at 5 p.m. CT Thursday. The two games' losing teams will play Thursday at 9 a.m. CT.
All Big Ten Tournament games will be televised nationally on Big Ten Network. Dave Loane and Jeff Huth have the radio call for the entirety of the Big Ten Tournament on the Fighting Illini Sports Network.Â
NOTES
• Illinois is ranked No. 20 by D1Baseball, its highest ranking this season and the highest currently in the Big Ten.
• Illinois is No. 22 in the RPI, the best in the Big Ten.
• Illinois has won 14 of its last 18 games.
• Illinois went 14-4 in its last 18 Big Ten games. After starting conference play 1-5, Illinois finished 15-9.
• Illinois is 11-5 against the RPI top 50, ranking No. 5 in the nation in top 50 winning percentage among teams with 10+ games (.688). The Illini are t-18th in the nation in top 50 wins (t-7th outside the SEC).
• Illinois won six straight Big Ten series to end the regular season (at MINN, PSU, at NEB, IND, PUR, at MSU).
• Illinois has series wins against every top-five Big Ten team played (at Minnesota, at Nebraska, Indiana).
• Illinois is 5-2 against ranked teams (D1Baseball Poll). The five wins are tied for the most in the Dan Hartleb era (2009, 2015). Illinois has won two season series against ranked teams (Coastal Carolina, Indiana) for the third time in the Dan Hartleb era, joining 2009 (LSU, Minnesota) and 2015 (Oklahoma State, Ohio State).
• Illinois has won despite major injuries all season, with the top three hitters in the order all dealing with injuries.
   • Gold Glove 2B Michael Massey did not play the field for 29 games (back).
   • Big Ten steals leader and team home run leader CF Zac Taylor missed 14 games (ankle).
   • SS Ben Troike has been out for the season (thumb) since being hit by a pitch vs. Indiana 5/4/19.
• Illinois' bullpen is 19-10 with a .185 batting average against, 3.71 ERA and 222 strikeouts in 201 1/3 innings.
• Opponents are hitting .197 with runners in scoring position against Illinois this season (94-477).
• Illinois is 35-10 when scoring more than two runs.
• Illinois is 33-6 when issuing fewer than seven walks. The Illini are 3-11 when walking seven or more (of those 14 games, 11 have been on the road and one has been a neutral site game.)
• Illinois is outscoring opponents 38-11 in the first inning. Illinois has allowed only eight earned runs in the first inning for a 1.36 team ERA in the opening frame. The Illini have allowed more than one run in the first inning only one time this season.Â
• Illinois set the Big Ten record for fielding percentage in Big Ten games (.987). Illinois made only 12 errors in 24 Big Ten games to break the old record of .986 set by Illinois in 1981.
• Illinois is second in the nation in fewest errors per game (0.64), behind only Navy (0.56).
• Illinois is tied for second in the nation in fielding percentage at .982, slightly ahead of last year's single-season program record of .979. Only Omaha at .983 is ahead of the Illini. Nebraska set the Big Ten record of .981 in 2013.
• Illinois leads the Big Ten and ranks third in the nation in hits allowed per nine innings (7.0). UCLA leads at 6.20.
• Illinois has played error-free in 13 of the last 19 games. Illinois has only eight errors in the last 19 games.
• Illinois is second in the Big Ten in batting average (.282) and ERA (3.58).
• Zac Taylor led the Big Ten in steals (20) and leads Illinois with 10 homers despite missing 14 games with an injury. Taylor is the first player in Illinois history with back-to-back seasons of 10+ homers and 10+ stolen bases.
• 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 is now back in the lineup full time.Â
• Michael Massey was eighth in the Big Ten in batting average (.323) during the regular season.
• Michael Massey has only one error in his last 90 starts at second base dating back to 4/23/2017 (a dropped feed at second from shortstop on a fielder's choice at Michigan 5/13/2018).Â
• Grant Van Scoy was sixth in the Big Ten in batting average (.337) during the regular season.
• Andy Fisher was named NCBWA National Pitcher of the Week 5/7/19 after throwing eight shutout innings and striking out nine while allowing only three hits to No. 19 Indiana 5/3/19, the national leader in home runs.
• Andy Fisher was fourth in the Big Ten in batting average against (.205), fourth in innings (88.1), eighth in strikeouts (85) and sixth in ERA (2.65) during the regular season
• Garrett Acton leads the nation in saves (19) and has set the Illinois and Big Ten single-season records. Acton broke the Big Ten record held previously held by Ohio State's Jake Hale in 2009 (18). Only 26 players in NCAA history have 20+ saves in a season, led by David Berg's 24 for UCLA in 2013.
• Ty Weber was ninth in the Big Ten in ERA (2.86) and eighth in average against (.219) during the regular season.
• Illinois is 10-4 in one-run games and 18-7 in games decided by one or two runs.
• Illinois started the season 14-3, tied for the best start through 17 games in the last 60 years (Started 16-1 in 1959).Â
• Illinois swept five of its first six weekends. The Illini swept three of its first four weekends for the first time since beginning to regularly play February games in 1982. Illinois swept a total of seven weekends on the year.Â
• The freshmen class was ranked No. 22 in the nation by D1Baseball.com and No. 24 by Baseball America as recruits, Illinois' first-ever top-25 recruiting class. C Jacob Campbell (No. 25) and RHP Aidan Maldonado (No. 49) are both among the top 50 freshman in the nation according to Baseball America.
• Illinois went on a six-game foreign trip to Curaçao and Aruba over Thanksgiving Break in November. The Illini went 0-2-1 against the Curaçao National Team before winning the Aruba Cup with two wins in three games against a group of Aruba amateur and professional players.Â
• Hitting streaks: McDonald 8, Campbell 5, Massey 4, Sarver 4
• Reached base streaks: Massey 21, Taylor 8, McDonald 8, Sarver 6, Campbell 5
ILLINOIS NCAA TOURNAMENT RESUME
• No. 22 in the RPI, the best in the Big Ten
• 14-4 in the last 18 games
• 11-5 vs. the RPI top 50
• 18-13 vs. RPI top 100
• No. 5 in the nation in top 50 winning percentage among teams with 10+ games (.688)
• t-18th in the nation in top 50 wins (t-6th outside the SEC)
• Nonconference RPI No. 6
• Nonconference strength of schedule No. 21
• Overall strength of schedule No. 59
• Six straight Big Ten series wins to end the regular season (at Minnesota, Penn State, at Nebraska, Indiana, Purdue, at Michigan State)
• Series wins against every top-five Big Ten team played (at Minnesota, at Nebraska, Indiana)
• Series sweep over MVC co-champion Illinois State (RPI 29)
• Series win over Big Ten champion Indiana (RPI 30)
• Series win at Nebraska (RPI 35)
• Series sweep at Conference USA champion FAU (RPI 38)
• Big Ten conference games fielding percentage record (.987)
• No. 2 in the Big Ten in batting average and ERA
• No. 1 in the Big Ten in fielding percentage
• Weekend record: 31-11
UP NEXT
Illinois will learn its NCAA Tournament fate during the selection show Monday at 11 a.m. CT on ESPNU. Host sites will be announced via the NCAA's social media platforms Sunday at 7:30 p.m. CT.
