CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — Dan Hartleb moved into second place on the all-time wins list with a 14-8 victory on Saturday night over Penn State at Illinois Field. The victory marked win number 475 of Hartleb's career, passing his predecessor, Itch Jones (474 wins).
"It's awesome," said Hartleb. "I'm blessed to have been here for a long time. This is all about a number of people. Administration has given us the opportunity, and all the support people that we have. I have had unbelievable assistant coaches that bring in all of the talent, they develop the talent, and they work extremely hard. Then, it comes down to the players that go out and compete at a high level. I have been very, very blessed in my career. You have guys that play extremely hard and go out and battle. I stand here and get the credit for it, but it's so many people that are involved. I can't thank everyone enough for what they have done."
Hartleb also took a moment to discuss his mentor by saying, "I'm one of the fortunate people who got to play for [Itch Jones]. He's an unbelievable human being. One of the greatest coaches in college baseball history. I got to play for him, be a graduate assistant for him and then spend 15 years here at Illinois as an assistant with him. The thing that many people don't know is that he retired so I could get the head coaching job. I wouldn't be here without him. I'm blessed the way this whole thing unfolded."
Kellen Sarver had a career night at the plate. Sarver (3-for-4, 2 HR, 6 RBI, 3 R) blasted two home runs, including a grand slam in the fourth inning. It was the first multi-home run game of Sarver's career and his six RBIs were a career high. The other home run was a solo shot in the seventh inning.
Jacob Campbell put in a solid night in the batter's box too. Campbell (2-for-4, HR, 3 RBI, R) connected on a two-run home run in the eighth inning to help provide the Illini some insurance.
The game turned into an offensive battle early. Illinois got started with three runs in the first inning. Taylor Jackson led off the first with a home run on the second pitch. The Illini never trailed at any point in the game.
LHP Nathan Lavender (3.2 IP, 7 H, 3 R, 2 ER, 0 BB, 3 SO) got the start for the Illini and had to work with runners on base for much of the night. RHP Ryan Kutt was part of the cast to come out of the bullpen and earned his first win of the season (1-4).
Illinois (21-19) will go for the sweep against Penn State tomorrow in the series finale on senior day at 1 p.m. CT. The Illini will start RHP Riley Gowens in the matchup.
Notes
• Dan Hartleb is now in second place on the all-time wins list in Illinois program history (475 wins).
• Illinois is now on a season-long five-game winning streak.
• Illinois has scored at least six runs in 17 of their 21 wins. The Illini are 17-6 when scoring six runs or more in a game this season.
• Illinois has hit 36 home runs in their last 28 games after only four home runs in their first 12 games.
• Kellen Sarver had his first career multi-home run game and had a career-high 6 RBI. He joins Jackson Raper as the only two Illini to have multi-homer games this season.
• Taylor Jackson has two home runs in his last three games (May 18 at Indiana).
• Jacob Campbell hit his fourth home run of the season in the eighth inning. His four home runs are twice as many as his 2019 and 2020 seasons combined.
• Ryan Kutt earned his first win of the season and his first since February 26, 2020 vs. Texas A&M.
• Brody Harding extended his on-base streak to a career-high 10 games.
