Illinois - Brittain Resorts Invitational
When	February 21-23
Where	Conway, S.C. and Myrtle Beach, S.C.
Tickets	Tickets
Television	None
Live Video	Saturday Only
Radio	Fighting Illini Sports Network | WDWS AM-1400
Live Stats	Fri. | Sat. | Sun.
Notes	Illinois
Shop	Online Store | Auctions | Publications
Social Media	@IlliniBaseball | #Illini | @IlliniBaseball | Facebook | YouTube

BRITTAIN RESORTS INVITATIONAL SCHEDULE 

» Tournament Website

Friday
10 a.m. CT » Western Carolina vs. Illinois (Myrtle Beach)
2 p.m. CT » Kennesaw State vs. West Virginia (Myrtle Beach)
2 p.m. CT » Saint Joseph's vs. Coastal Carolina (Conway)

Saturday
10 a.m. CT » Western Carolina vs. Kennesaw State (Conway)
1 p.m. CT » West Virginia vs. Saint Joseph's (Myrtle Beach)
2 p.m. CT » Illinois vs. Coastal Carolina (Conway)

Sunday
9 a.m. CT » West Virginia vs. Illinois (Myrtle Beach)
11 a.m. CT » Kennesaw State vs. Coastal Carolina (Conway)
1 p.m. CT » Western Carolina vs. Saint Joseph's (Myrtle Beach)
3 p.m. CT » Coastal Carolina vs. West Virginia (Conway)

Home team listed as second team

PREVIEW

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — The Illinois baseball team makes its ninth trip to Coastal Carolina in the last 11 years for the Brittain Resorts Invitational, hosted at Coastal's Springs Brooks Stadium and the Myrtle Beach Pelicans' TicketReturn.com Field. The Illini will face Western Carolina, the host Chanticleers, and West Virginia from Friday-Sunday.

Illinois (1-2) dropped two straight to end college baseball's first weekend of play last week after winning the season opener against Milwaukee. Illinois' two starting junior college transfer outfielders combined to hit .333 (8-24) with two homers and five RBIs with LF Nathan Aide batting .364 (4-11) with a homer and four RBIs and CF Taylor Jackson hitting .308 (4-13), including a leadoff homer against No. 18 Wake Forest. 

The Illini's pitching was a highlighted by starters Ty Weber (1-0, 1.50 ERA, 6.0 IP) and Ty Rybarczyk (0-0, 0.00, 5.0 IP) in new pitching coach Mark Allen's first Illini game action. Weber will start on Saturday, while lefties Jimmy Burnette and Cole Kirschsieper will get their first career starts on Friday and Sunday, respectively, as Illinois' pitching staff continues to compete for innings.

"It's a little different this year on how we are handling the first few trips," said head coach Dan Hartleb. "The change in the rotation was preplanned, it's not because of performance. I'm excited about where we're at from a pitching standpoint and we have an opportunity to get much better there."

All three games will be broadcast on the Fighting Illini Sports Network. Only Saturday's game at Coastal will be streamed.  

#GILLEYISOURGUY

The Illinois baseball team supports Coastal Carolina head coach Gary Gilmore in his recently-announced fight against liver cancer. The Illini's trip to Coastal has been a highlight of seasons for more than a decade thanks to Coach Gilmore and the people of Coastal Carolina University. 

#GilleyIsOurGuy pic.twitter.com/qasO1FNAg4

— Coastal Baseball (@CoastalBaseball) February 15, 2020

SERIES HISTORY

vs. Western Carolina
• Record: 1-2 (Home: 0-0;  Away: 1-0;  Neutral: 0-2;)
• Last: L, 2-4 (3/6/10 at Greenville, N.C.)

vs. Coastal Carolina
• Record: 7-8 (Home: 2-0;  Away: 4-8;  Neutral: 1-0)
• Last: W, 4-1 (4/3/19 at Illinois Field)
• Illinois won two of three against Coastal last season.

vs. West Virginia
• Record: 8-3 (Home: 0-0;  Away: 2-0;  Neutral: 6-3)
• Last: L, 10-8 (2/24/18 at Conway, S.C.)

NOTES

• Illinois returns to Coastal Carolina for the seventh straight year. 

     » The Illini are 8-15 in Conway/Myrtle Beach in the last six years.

• Illinois' two starting juco transfer outfielders combined to hit .333 (8-24) with two homers and five RBIs last weekend.

     » LF Nathan Aide - .364 (4-11), HR, 4 RBIs

     » CF Taylor Jackson - .308 (4-13), HR

• Illinois was picked to finish fourth in the Big Ten by Perfect Game, fifth by D1Baseball, and eighth by Baseball America.

• Four of Illinois' first nine games are against preseason top 25 teams: #18 Wake Forest, #20 Texas A&M, #22 Oklahoma State, #14 UCLA. Illinois also faces predicted conference champion and NCAA regional team Coastal Carolina.

• Illinois is opening the new decade following its best decade in program history. 

     » Two Big Ten titles (2011, 2015) in the decade

     » Four NCAA Regionals (2011, 2013, 2015, 2019), tied for the second-most in the Big Ten in the 2010s (IND 6, NEB 4).

     » Program record 50 wins in 2015 and the team's first ever Super Regional

     » Head coach Dan Hartleb was named D1Baseball's Big Ten Coach of the Decade

• Head coach Dan Hartleb has made as many NCAA tournaments in his first 14 seasons as head coach (4) as the previous 42 Illini seasons combined. 

• Illinois' new $8-million, 26,000-square foot Susan and Clint Atkins Baseball Training Center is set to open in 2022.

• D1Baseball Big Ten top 2020 MLB Draft prospects: No. 20 LHP Jimmy Burnette, No. 24 C/1B Kellen Sarver, No. 37 RHP Garrett Acton

• D1Baseball Big Ten top 2021 MLB Draft prospects: No. 4 RHP Aidan Maldonado, No. 14 IF/OF Cam McDonald, No. 19 LHP Nathan Lavender, No. 20 SS Branden Comia, No. 26 Ty Rybarczyk

• D1Baseball Big Ten Impact Freshmen: No. 19 INF Brody Harding, No. 37 LHP Cole Kirschsieper, No. 42 RHP Grant Leader, No. 44 OF Danny Doligale, No. 46 INF Xavier Watson

• Illinois regularly started four freshmen last season, who now make up the sophomore class: SS Branden Comia, 1B/C Kellen Sarver, C Jacob Campbell, IF/OF Cam McDonald. The 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. Campbell (No. 25) and RHP Aidan Maldonado (No. 49) were both among the top 50 freshman in the nation according to Baseball America when they came to Illinois.

• Illinois has 18 newcomers in 2020.

UP NEXT

Illinois travels to the highly-touted Frisco Classic in Frisco, Texas, to face No. 20 Texas A&M, Oklahoma State, and No. 14 UCLA in one of the top round robin tournaments in college baseball. The field has combined for over 10,000 wins, 687 MLB Draft Picks, 90 conference titles, 116 NCAA postseason appearances, 31 College World Series appearances, and two College World Series titles. The event is hosted at the Frisco Roughriders' Dr. Pepper Ballpark.