MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. — The Illinois baseball team defeated Minnesota on Friday night at U.S. Bank Stadium, 6-1 in 10 innings. The Illini pitching staff has not allowed an earned run in 19 consecutive innings of work.
The combination of sophomores Andrew Hoffmann (6.2 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 2 BB, 9 SO), Nathan Lavender (W, 2.1 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 4 SO) and Ryan Kutt (1.0 IP, 2 H, 0 R) kept the Minnesota (1-4) bats quiet for most of the night.
The staff combined for 13 strikeouts in the contest, the most in a game since April 23, 2019 at Bradley (16 SO). It was also the most in a conference game since April 19, 2019 (15 SO) vs. Penn State and the highest total in a conference game away from Illinois Field since May 13, 2016 at Indiana (14 SO).
After a pitcher's duel of six scoreless innings, sophomore Ryan Hampe finally broke the tie by taking a ball deep to left field in the seventh to give the Illini a 1-0 lead. Hampe finished the night a perfect 4-for-4 at the plate.
The game carried along to extra innings where the Illini broke through for good. The first six batters of the inning reached base, beginning with a pinch-hit single by junior Nathan Aide. A Branden Comia walk, followed by a 2-run single from sophomore Kellen Sarver put the Illini ahead 4-1. Another bases loaded walk and a RBI single by senior Jackson Raper wrapped up the scoring.
Illinois (2-3) will try to win their third straight game tomorrow evening. Saturday's action will be a doubleheader against Minnesota with the first game set for 5 p.m. CT and scheduled for seven innings of play. Game two is a nine-inning battle that will start following the conclusion of game one. Freshman Riley Gowens is expected to start game one, while sophomore Ty Rybarczyk is slated for the back end of the doubleheader.
