Illinois (8-10) at No. 24 Indiana (11-7)
When	April 9-11
Where	Bloomington, Ind. (Bart Kaufman Stadium)
Television	None
Live Video ($)	Friday | Saturday | Sunday
Radio	Fighting Illini Sports Network | WDWS AM-1400
Live Stats	Live Stats
Notes	Illinois | Indiana
Shop	Online Store | Auctions
Social Media	@IlliniBaseball | @IlliniBaseball | Facebook | YouTube

Note: The start time of Saturday's game was moved to 5 p.m. CT due to expected inclement weather.

PREVIEW

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — The Illinois baseball team will go on the road after back-to-back weekends at Illinois Field. They will travel to Bloomington, Indiana, for a three-game set at Bart Kaufman Field.

Illinois (8-10) is coming off a weekend that they dropped two of three to first-place Nebraska. The Illini held leads in all three games but could only come away one win. On Saturday, with the score tied 8-8 in the bottom of the eighth, sophomore C Ryan Hampe hit a two-run homer, ultimately leading the Illini to a 10-8 victory. Illinois had a season-high 16 hits in that game, their most since they had 17 hits on April 26, 2019 at Nebraska.

Sophomore SS Branden Comia continues hitting the ball well. He extended his on-base streak to a career-best 36 games and is hitting .555/.592/.822 (25-for-45), with six doubles, two home runs, nine RBIs and 14 runs scored over his career-long 11-game hitting streak. Senior 3B Jackson Raper added two home runs to his team-best six homers on the season. He has five home runs in his last six games.

The Illini will send out sophomore LHP Nathan Lavender on Friday. He was given the start last Friday for the first time since April 30, 2019 at Southern Illinois. Lavender (4.0 IP, 5 H, 1 R, 1 BB, 6 SO) threw well in his first career Friday start. Freshman RHP Riley Gowens will go to the mound on Saturday and sophomore RHP Andrew Hoffmann gets the ball in the weekend finale on Sunday.

No public admission will be allowed at the games this weekend.

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. Indiana

• Record: 120-80-1 (Home: 65-31, Away: 49-45-1, Neutral: 4-4)
• Last: L, 2-9 (5/5/19 at Champaign)
• Illinois won 2 of 3 against Indiana in 2019
• Illinois won 3 of 5 against Indiana in 2018
• Illinois is 12-10 vs. Indiana since 2012

NOTES

• Illinois travels to Bloomington to play Indiana in a three-game series at Bart Kaufman Field this weekend.
• Illinois' offensive rankings in the Big Ten through 18 games...
     » 1st hits (187)
     » 1st batting average (.294)
     » 3rd doubles (37)
     » 3rd on-base percentage (.378)
     » 4th runs (118)
• Illinois hit .345 (38-for-110) with five doubles, four home runs, and 23 runs last weekend against Nebraska.
• Illinois had a season-high 16 hits last Saturday, their most since they had 17 hits on April 26, 2019 at Nebraska.
     » C Ryan Hampe hit a go-ahead, two-run homer in the bottom of the eighth inning to break an 8-8 tie.
• Illinois has hit 12 home runs in their last six 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 8-4 when scoring six runs or more in a game.
• 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 currently has a career-long 36-game on-base streak dating back to May 18, 2019 at Michigan State.
     » Comia also has an active 11-game hitting streak, the longest of his career.
     » Comia is hitting .555/.592/.822 (25-for-45), with six doubles, two home runs, nine RBIs and 14 runs scored over those 11 games.
• SS Branden Comia Big Ten ranks in 2021...
     » 2nd hits (27)
     » 3rd batting average (.403)
     » 3rd on-base percentage (.512)
     » 3rd runs (20)
     » 8th doubles (6)
• SS Branden Comia was the only underclassmen shortstop in the nation who hit .400+ with an OPS of 1.200+ in 2020.
• 3B Jackson Raper has hit five home runs in his last six games. He leads the team in home runs (6) and RBIs (18).
     » Big Ten rankings: 6th – home runs (6), 8th – RBIs (18), 9th – slugging percentage (.672)
• CF Taylor Jackson has hit leadoff and started every game in center field this season. He is batting .320 (24-for-75) with four doubles, seven RBIs, 13 runs scored and 10 walks this season.
• LHP Nathan Lavender leads the pitching staff with three wins. He made his first start last Friday against Nebraska since April 30, 2019 at Southern Illinois. Lavender tossed four innings and struck out six while allowing only one run.
• 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 could pass Illini legend Itch Jones for second place on the all-time wins list this year.
• 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 Nathan 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

UP NEXT

Illinois hosts a pod weekend at Illinois Field with Michigan State and Purdue coming to town. The Illini will play four games from Friday through Monday.