| Probable Starting Pitchers |
| Day |
Illinois |
Penn State |
| Fri. 6 p.m. CT |
RHP Andrew Hoffmann (2-0, 3.31) |
RHP Bailey Dees (4-3, 5.34) |
| Sat. 7 p.m. CT |
LHP Nathan Lavender (6-2, 4.37) |
RHP Conor Larkin (3-6, 4.42) |
| Sun. 1 p.m. CT |
RHP Riley Gowens (2-3, 5.36) |
RHP Kyle Virbitsky (3-4, 4.24) |
PREVIEW
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — The Illinois baseball team will take on Penn State this weekend at Illinois Field in their final three home games of the season. Seniors will be honored prior to the start of the game on Sunday.
Illinois (19-19) is riding a three-game winning streak entering the weekend after winning the last two games in Iowa and defeating No. 25 Indiana in Bloomington on Tuesday. In each of the three wins, the pitching staff struck out at least 10 batters.
On Tuesday at Indiana, Illinois sent seven pitchers to the mound. True freshman RHP Clayton Johnson made his first career start in the contest. The Illini went on to win the game 3-2 in 10 innings courtesy of a Taylor Jackson solo home run in extras.
Justin Janas had a career day on Sunday at Iowa, finishing 5-for-5 with a double, RBI and run scored. He was the first Illinois batter with five hits in a game since Jason Goldstein on May 10, 2015 vs. Rutgers. Janas leads the Big Ten in batting average (.392) and on-base percentage (.506).
This weekend, RHP Andrew Hoffmann will go on Friday, LHP Nathan Lavender will start on Saturday and RHP Riley Gowens will close out the series on Sunday.
All three games this weekend will be broadcast on BTN+. Scott Beatty will have the radio call all weekend on the Fighting Illini Sports Network.
SERIES HISTORY
vs. Penn State
• Record: 39-29 (Home: 20-12; Away: 17-15; Neutral: 2-2)
• Last: W, 4-3 (4/21/19 at Illinois Field)
• Illinois has won 14 of the last 15 meetings
• Doug Hayes threw one-hitter vs. PSU 3/26/16
• Illini swept series in 2013, '14, '15, '19
NOTES
• Illinois will host their final series of the season at Illinois Field this weekend against Penn State.
• Illinois' offensive rankings in the Big Ten through 38 games...
» 2nd hits (354)
» 3rd batting average (.273)
» 4th scoring (6.4 runs/game)
» 4th runs (245)
» 5th on-base percentage (.372)
• Illinois is currently averaging 6.45 runs/game, the most in a season since 2010 when they averaged 6.58 runs/game (342 R/52 G).
• Illinois has recorded double-digit strikeout in three consecutive games (16 SO, 13 SO, 15 SO). It is the first time since April 2-5, 2019 vs. Coastal Carolina/Maryland (3g) that they have done so in three straight games.
» The pitching staff has recorded at least 10 strikeouts in 15 games this season.
• Illinois has won back-to-back series on the road for the first time this season (May 14-16 at Iowa & April 23-25 at Purdue).
• Illinois had a season-high 13 walks on Saturday at Iowa. It was the most by the Illini in a game since March 11, 2016 vs. UNC Greensboro (15 BB).
• Illinois has hit 29 home runs in their last 26 games after only four home runs in their first 12 games.
• Illinois has scored at least six runs in 15 of their 19 wins. The Illini are 15-6 when scoring six runs or more in a game this season.
• Illinois has been leading or tied over the course of the game in 14 of their 19 losses this season (11 leading, three tied).
• Illinois has seven saves over their last 17 games after 0 saves in their first 21 games.
• 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.
• 1B/DH Justin Janas leads the Big Ten in batting average (.392) and on-base percentage (.506). He has reached base safely in a career-high 20 straight games and in 35 of 36 contests this season.
» On Sunday at Iowa, Janas (5-for-5, 2B, RBI, R) became first Illinois batter with five hits in a game since Jason Goldstein on May 10, 2015
vs. Rutgers (5-for-5, HR, 4 RBI, 3 R). He is the first to do it on the road since Ryan Hastings on April 7, 2008 at Indiana (5-for-6, 2B, 2 RBI, 2 R).
• LHP Nate Lavender (W, 6.0 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 3 BB, 13 SO) had a career-high 13 strikeouts on Saturday at Iowa. The last Illinois pitcher to have at least 13 strikeouts in a game was Cody Sedlock on April 22, 2016 vs. Ohio State (14 SO).
» He started the season 5-0 to become the first Illini to do so since RHP John Kravetz finished the 2015 season with a
5-0 record (3.35 ERA) in 14 starts.
» Big Ten rankings: T-2nd – wins (6), 2nd – SO/BB Ratio (4.71), 7th – SO/9 inn. (12.55)
• SS Branden Comia is hitting .361/.474/.509 (39-for-108), with 7 2B, 3 HR, 22 RBIs, 25 R and 16 BB over his last 30 games.
» 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).
» Comia was the only underclassmen shortstop in the nation who hit .400+ with an OPS of 1.200+ in 2020.
• RHP Andrew Hoffmann threw a career-high 7.2 IP and had a career-high 12 SO in a 2-0 win over Maryland on May 7.
» Big Ten rankings: 3rd – SO/BB Ratio (4.67), 4th – WHIP (1.04), 6th – BB/9 inn. (2.20), 7th – BAA (.212), 9th – H/9 inn. (7.16), 9th – ERA (3.31)
• 3B Jackson Raper hit for the cycle on May 2 against Michigan. Raper went 4-for-5 (home run, single, triple, double) with a career-high 7 RBI and two runs scored in the first game of the doubleheader.
» He is only the 4th Illinois batter in the last 32 seasons (since 1990) to hit for the cycle and the first since Justin Parr vs. Purdue on April 14, 2013. Brandon Wikoff vs. Bradley on April 7, 2009 and Sean Mulligan vs. Michigan on February 25, 1990 were the others.
» Big Ten rankings: 4th – RBIs (37), T-7th – home runs (9), 9th – slugging percentage (.585), T-10th – doubles (10)
• 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 (473) is two wins away from passing Illini legend Itch Jones (474) for second place on the all-time wins list.
• Illinois recorded their third shutout of the season on May 7 in a 2-0 win over Maryland. They have three shutouts in conference play in a single season for the first time since 2016 (April 29, 2016 vs. Minnesota, April 22, 2016 vs. Ohio State, March 25, 2016 vs. Penn State).
• Illinois completed their only sweep of the season at Purdue (April 23-25) and it was their first since May 10-12, 2019 vs. Purdue. It was their first Big Ten series sweep on the road since March 23-25, 2018 at Northwestern.
• RHP Riley Gowens was named Collegiate Baseball Newspaper National Player of the Week & Big Ten Pitcher of the Week following his seven hitless innings in his start at Purdue on April 25.
• Illinois scored 13 runs on April 16 and a season-high 15 runs on April 17 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.
• 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.
» At the time, 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.
• 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.
• 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 travel to Piscataway, N.J., to play Rutgers in a three-game series to close out the season.
