Illinois (10-14) at Purdue (10-15)
When	April 23-25
Where	West Lafayette, Ind. (Alexander Field)
Television	None
Live Video ($)	Friday | Saturday | Sunday
Radio	Fighting Illini Sports Network | WDWS AM-1400
Live Stats	Live Stats
Notes	Illinois | Purdue
Shop	Online Store | Auctions
Social Media	@IlliniBaseball | @IlliniBaseball | Facebook | YouTube

PREVIEW

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — The Illinois baseball team will make a trip this weekend to West Lafayette, Indiana, for three games with Purdue. The teams just finished a two-game set at Illinois Field on Sunday and Monday.

Monday's contest lasted four hours and one minute. That was the longest nine-inning game the Illini have competed in since April 30, 2004 vs. Penn State, which lasted four hours and 21 minutes.

Illinois (10-14) is coming off a weekend where they finished 2-2. Sophomore 1B/DH Kellen Sarver had a strong weekend for the Illini, finishing 9-for-16 (.563/.500/.813), with a double, home run, five RBIs and three runs scored. His home run on Saturday against Michigan State was his first since June 1, 2019 vs. Jacksonville State. Sophomore C Ryan Hampe also added seven RBIs over the weekend.

Two other guys that have pieced together solid stretches are SS Branden Comia and RF Cam McDonald. Comia is hitting .466/.556/.690 (27-for-58), with seven doubles, two home runs, 14 RBIs and 19 runs scored and eight walks over his last 16 games. McDonald has batted 404/.491/.638 (19-for-47), with five doubles, two homers, 13 RBIs, 12 runs and eight walks over a 13-game span.

RHP Andrew Hoffmann will get the ball to start the series on Friday. The Illini will then go with LHP Nathan Lavender on Saturday, before RHP Riley Gowens will close out the series on Sunday afternoon.

All three games this weekend will be broadcast on BTN+. Scott Beatty will have the radio call on the Fighting Illini Sports Network.

SERIES HISTORY

vs. Purdue

• Record: 166-86-1 (Home: 94-40; Away: 69-44-1; Neutral: 2-1)
• Last: L, 6-20 (4/19/21 at Illinois Field)
• Purdue took the first two games in Champaign
• Illinois swept Purdue 5/10-5/12/2019
• Illinois has won four of the last five series

NOTES

• Illinois will travel to West Lafayette this weekend to face Purdue for three games. 
• Illinois' offensive rankings in the Big Ten through 24 games...
     » 1st hits (242)
     » 2nd batting average (.289)
     » 3rd on-base percentage (.379)
     » 4th runs (160)
• Illinois scored 13 runs last Friday and a season-high 15 runs last Saturday against Michigan State. The last time the Illini had at least 13 runs in back-to-back games was March 9-10, 2018 vs. Michigan State/at Furman.
     » It is the first time they have scored 13+ runs in a conference game on consecutive days since March 27-28, 1998 vs. Michigan.
• Monday's 4-hour, 1-minute game against Purdue was the second game this season over four hours (4:09, March 5 vs. Ohio State). It is the longest 9-inning game they have played since April 30, 2004 vs. Penn State (4:21, 9 innings).
• Illinois has hit 16 home runs in their last 12 games after only four home runs in their first 12 games.
• Illinois has scored at least six runs in all of their wins. The Illini are 10-5 when scoring six runs or more in a game this season.
• Illinois has been leading or tied over the course of the game in 10 of their 14 losses this season (seven leading, three tied).
• Illinois has 24 returning players and 11 newcomers. 86% of last season's hits and 83% of runs are back in the lineup.
     » Three of the four transfers on the team this season are coming from John A. Logan CC (RHP Andrew Hoffmann, C Ryan Hampe, INF Zak Hartleb). INF Jackson Raper transferred from Catawba College.
• SS Branden Comia is hitting .466/.556/.690 (27-for-58), with seven doubles, two home runs, 14 RBIs and 19 runs scored and eight walks over his last 16 games.
     » Big Ten rankings this season: 2nd – on-base percentage (.495), T-4th – runs (25), 5th – batting average (.357) 
     » Comia snapped his career-long 37-game on-base streak that dated back to May 18, 2019 at Michigan State on April 10 at Indiana. It was the third longest on-base streak by an Illini hitter since 2004 (Ben Troike-57 games in 2017-18, Kyle Hudson-38 games in 2008).
• SS Branden Comia was the only underclassmen shortstop in the nation who hit .400+ with an OPS of 1.200+ in 2020.
• LHP Nate Lavender leads the pitching staff with four wins and 41 SO. His last three outings have been starts after beginning the year with four relief appearances. He sits on the leaderboard of several pitching categories in the country and Big Ten.
     » SO/BB Ratio: 8.20 – 18th in the nation, 2nd in the Big Ten
     » SO/9 inn.: 13.34 – 24th in the nation, 4th in the Big Ten
     » BB/9 inn.: 1.63 – 2nd in the Big Ten
     » Wins: 4 – 2nd in the Big Ten
     » WHIP: 1.01 – 4th in the Big Ten
     » ERA: 3.25 – 10th in the Big Ten
• 3B Jackson Raper is hitting .329/.442/.659 (28-for-85), with 7 2B, 7 HR, 22 RBIs, 22 R, 16 BB in 24 games this season.
     » Big Ten rankings: 6th – slugging percentage (.659), T-7th – RBIs (22), T-7th – BB (16), 9th – home runs (7)
• 1B/DH Justin Janas has a .378 batting average (3rd in the Big Ten) and a .484 on-base percentage (4th in the Big Ten).
• Dan Hartleb won his 450th game as a head coach on Feb. 28, 2020 against #13 Texas A&M to become the third coach in Illinois history to reach the milestone. Hartleb (464) is 11 wins away from passing Illini legend Itch Jones (474) for second place on the all-time wins list.
• Head coach Dan Hartleb has made as many NCAA tournaments in his first 15 seasons as head coach (4) as the previous 42 Illini seasons combined.
• Illinois is picked to finish fifth in the conference by Baseball America, sixth by D1Baseball and sixth in the Big Ten preseason coaches poll.
• The combination of RHP Andrew Hoffmann, LHP Nate Lavender and RHP Jack Crowder struck out 17 Northwestern batters on March 26, the most in a game since the Illini set a program record on April 22, 2016 vs. Ohio State (15 inn., 23 SO).
     » It was the most in a 9-inning game since at least the 2004 season.
• Illinois won both games of their doubleheader on March 13, their first DH sweep since April 14, 2019 at Minnesota.
• On March 7, the Illini pitched a three-hit shutout. It was their first shutout in a conference game since May 3, 2019 vs. Indiana (4-0) and the first in a conference game away from Illinois Field since May 22, 2015 vs. Michigan State (2-0) in the Big Ten Tournament in Minneapolis.
     » The three hits allowed were the least in a conference game since May 4, 2019 vs. Indiana (3) and the least in a conference game away from Illinois Field since May 7, 2016 at Maryland (3).
• Illinois returned to play on March 5 against Ohio State for the first time in 362 days (8-7 win on March 8, 2020 at Elon).
    » The Big Ten suspended all sports beginning March 12, 2020 due to COVID-19. The fast-spreading virus was deemed a pandemic by the World Health Organization, prompting most collegiate and professional leagues in the United States to suspend all activities. The suspension of Big Ten sports ended Illinois' baseball season after only 13 games.
• 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 2021 MLB Draft prospects: No. 11 SS Branden Comia, No. 17 RHP Aidan Maldonado, No. 27 C Ryan Hampe
• D1Baseball Big Ten Impact Freshmen: No. 17 LHP Payton Hutchings and No. 21 RHP Jack Crowder
• Baseball America Big Ten top 2021 MLB Draft prospects: No. 10 RHP Aidan Maldonado, No. 13 C Jacob Campbell, No. 17 SS Branden Comia, No. 20 RHP Andrew Hoffmann
• Perfect Game Preseason All-Big Ten team: SS Branden Comia and C Ryan Hampe
• Perfect Game Big Ten top 2021 MLB Draft prospects: No. 19 C Jacob Campbell, No. 22 RHP Andrew Hoffmann, No. 24 RHP Aidan Maldonado, No. 25 C Ryan Hampe, No. 29 SS Branden Comia, No. 32 INF Jackson Raper
• SS Branden Comia preseason awards: Perfect Game Preseason All-Big Ten team, No. 4 shortstop in the nation by D1Baseball, No. 11 MLB Draft prospect in the Big Ten by D1Baseball, No. 17 MLB Draft prospect in the Big Ten by Baseball America, "Best Defensive Infielder" in the Big Ten by Baseball America, Bobby Bragan Collegiate Slugger Award watch list
• Illinois opened the new decade last season 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.

UP NEXT

Illinois will play in their third and final pod of the season next weekend in Evanston, Illinois, against Michigan and Northwestern.