CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — On Friday night at Illinois Field, the Illini picked up a 9-0 shutout win over Penn State. RHP Andrew Hoffmann (7.0 IP, 4 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 5 SO) pitched a gem.
Hoffmann threw seven scoreless innings and was in command the entire night. It was his second consecutive scoreless start at home. Alex Vera pitched the last two innings of the game.
The Illini struck first in the second inning on a two-out RBI single off the bat of Nathan Aide. Cal Hejza followed that up when he connected on his first career home run to extend the Illini lead to 3-0. Another run would score in the fourth inning on a Cam McDonald RBI single up the middle.
In the fifth inning, Jackson Raper (2-for-4, 2 HR, 3 RBI, 2 R) hustled around the bases for an inside-the-park home run on a deep fly ball to center field. It was the first inside-the-park home run by an Illini since Trent Hammond on April 18, 2017 vs. Western Michigan. Raper would add a two-run home run in the eighth inning as well.
Branden Comia (2-for-4, 2 2B, 2 RBI) contributed to the scoring with a two-run double down the left field line in the sixth inning. Kellen Sarver also had two doubles and two runs scored in the game.
Illinois (20-19) plays Penn State in a primetime game on the Big Ten Network tomorrow evening at 7:00 p.m. CT. LHP Nathan Lavender will be on the mound for the Illini.
Notes
• Illinois is now on a four-game winning streak.
• Illinois is above .500 for the first time since March 26 when they had a record of 7-6.
• Illinois recorded their fourth shutout of the season. The last time the Illini had at least four shutouts in a single season was in 2014 when they had five shutouts. The last time the Illini had four shutouts in conference play in a single season was 1989.
• Illinois has scored at least six runs in 16 of their 20 wins. The Illini are 16-6 when scoring six runs or more in a game this season.
• Dan Hartleb is now tied for second on the program's all-time wins list with his mentor Itch Jones (474 wins).
• Andrew Hoffmann has back-to-back scoreless starts at Illinois Field (May 7 vs. Maryland).
• Illinois improved to 8-2 in games that Hoffmann starts.
• Jackson Raper had his second multi-home run game of the season. He hit an inside-the-park home run in the fifth inning. It was the first inside-the-park home run by an Illini since Trent Hammond on April 18, 2017 vs. Western Michigan.
• Raper is the first Illini to have more than one multi-HR game in a season since National Player of the Year Bren Spillane in 2018.
• Cal Hejza hit his first career home run.
• Justin Janas snapped his career-high 20-game on-base streak. He has reached base safely in 35 of 37 games this season. He leads the Big Ten in batting average (.379) and OBP (.494).
