CHAMPAIGN, Ill. -- Fighting Illini baseball (10-7) earned their first win at Illinois Field this season with a 6-4 victory over Bradley (6-10).
The win was No. 517 in head coach Dan Hartleb's career, putting him just one win behind Lee Eilbracht for the most in program history.
Illinois struck first in the contest, scoring twice in the third to take a 2-0 lead. Connor Milton started the frame with a double and scored on an infield single from Cal Hejza. Hejza would later score on a wild pitch.
The Illini added a run in the fourth when Camden Janik took the first pitch of the inning deep to left for his fourth home run of the season.
Bradley would score three times in the fifth to tie the game with a solo home run and a two-run double in the frame.
Illinois hit back in the bottom half of the inning with a three-spot to re-take the lead. Branden Comia and Cam McDonald each singled and Drake Westcott crushed an opposite-field shot to left, his sixth big fly of the season, to give the Illini a 6-3 lead.
The Braves pushed back with one more run in the sixth to make it 6-4, but TJ Constertina and Joe Glassey would keep the visitors off the board over the final three innings, allowing just two hits and striking out three.
Jake Swartz turned in another solid midweek start, allowing three runs over 4.2 innings of work to go along with four strikeouts.
The Fighting Illini begin Big Ten play on Friday, when they head to Lincoln, Neb., to take on Nebraska for three games at Hawks Field at Haymarket Park. First pitch for Friday's contest is slated for 6:05 p.m. CT.
GAME NOTES
» Head coach Dan Hartleb picked up career win 517 and is just two wins away from passing Lee Eilbracht (518) for the most in program history.
» Branden Comia extended his on-base streak to 57 games after going 2-for-3 with a run and two walks.
    » He is just six games away from matching Cam McDonald's program record of 63 games, which was set last season.
» Drake Westcott went 2-for-3 with a run, home run, three RBI and a walk.
    » Westcott has three homers in his last three games.
    » Has six RBI in his last three games...has four games with three RBI or more this season...ranks second on the team with 17 RBI.
    » Has drawn a walk in 13 of 17 games this season...ranks second on the team with 15 total walks.
» Camden Janik went 1-for-3 with a run, home run and an RBI.
    » Has reached base safely in all 17 games this season...one of two Illini batters to do so (B. Comia).
    » Has four homers this season.
» Cam McDonald extended his hitting streak to nine games after going 1-for-5 with a run.
    » Is batting .308 (12-for-39) with five doubles, one home run, five RBI and three walks during that span.
» Connor Milton went 1-for-3 with a run, double, a walk and a stolen base in his second-straight start.
» TJ Constertina worked 2.0 scoreless innings in relief, allowing just two hits and striking out two.
    » Has not allowed a run in his last three outings, spanning 4.2 innings.
» First win over Bradley at Illinois Field since April 27, 2010.
» The Illini are 7-1 this season when hitting more than one home run.
» Three Illini batters picked up multi-hit performances.
» Eight of nine Illinois batters reached safely in the contest.
» Illinois pitchers limited Bradley to just 1-for-8 (.125) with runners in scoring position.
» Illinois pitchers faced 41 Bradley hitters in the game, allowing eight ground balls and nine fly balls while striking out eight.
» The Fighting Illini drew six walks from Bradley pitching.
This story created through content automation technology from Data Skrive.
