NORMAL, Ill. -- Fighting Illini baseball (14-15) got back into the win column in a big way on Tuesday night, scoring 16 runs on 17 hits in a 16-5 victory over Illinois State (10-17) at Duffy Bass Field. The programs split the season series, with the road team coming away victorious in each contest.
The run and hit totals both are season-high marks, as was the 11-run margin of victory. Eleven different Illini recorded a hit, with five picking up multi-hit efforts.
Illinois opened the scoring in the first, with Camden Janik doing deep for the sixth time this season with a solo blast to left. Jack Crowder, making his first start since March 4, began his outing with a 1-2-3 first and then kept the Redbirds off the board in the second, setting the table for the onslaught.
The Illini then put up back-to-back three spots in the third and fourth, starting with a three-run blast from Drake Westcott, his team-leading eighth of the season to make it 4-0. Cam McDonald drew a walk with the bases loaded to start the scoring in the fourth and Westcott brought his RBI total to five with a two-run single.
Crowder cruised through the final two innings of his start, allowing just one hit to go along with a strikeout. His 4.0 innings was his longest outing since March 4, and he also marked his first scoreless start of the season.
Jacob Schroeder picked up an RBI, scoring Brody Harding with a groundout, before Illinois State would get on the board in the bottom half to make it 8-1. The Illini grabbed that run right back when Ryan Moerman collected RBI No. 30 with a solo shot to left to make it 9-1.
Illinois continued to pour it on in the seventh when Janik scored two on a triple with two outs and then scored on a single from McDonald. The Redbirds would have their biggest offensive output of the game following the stretch, scoring four times to make it 12-5.
But the Illini continued to be relentless, with Schroeder picking up his second RBI of the contest with a single in the eighth, and scoring three more times in the ninth on a bases-clearing three-run double from Gavin Bennett.
John Lundgren, Brady Banker, Alex Vera and Logan Tabeling all had scoreless relief appearances, combining to allow just four hits to go along with four strikeouts in 4.0 innings of work. Tabeling would finish the game with a 1-2-3 ninth, tallying one strikeout, to give the Illini the big win.
The Fighting Illini will begin a season-long seven-game homestand on Friday, beginning a three-game set against Big Ten foe Indiana. First pitch for the series opener is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. CT.
GAME NOTES
» Drake Westcott went 2-for-5 with a run, home run, five RBI and a walk.
» His five RBI marks a career high...has nine RBI in his last six games.
» Hit his team-leading eighth home run of the season...six have gone to the opposite field.
» Danny Doligale went 3-for-5 with two runs scored, a double and a walk.
» Extended his hitting streak to a season-high five games...is batting .381 (8-for-21) during that span.
» Has a team-high 23 walks.
» Cam McDonald went 1-for-4 with a run, two RBI and a walk.
» Extended his hitting streak to eight games...is batting .361 (13-for-36) during that span.
» Camden Janik, Ryan Moerman and Jacob Schroeder all had two-hit games.
» Five Fighting Illini had multiple hits in the ballgame.
» Jack Crowder did not factor in the decision in his start.
» 4.0 IP, 2 H, 0 R/ER, 0 BB, 2 SO
» First start since March 4 at Sam Houston.
» Every Illinois starter reached base safely in the win.
» Eleven of the 12 Illini batters that made a plate appearance in the ballgame had a hit.
» Illinois hitters hit three home runs in the ballgame.
» Snapped a three-game homerless run.
» Seventh game this season with three or more home runs.
» The Fighting Illini had a total of 17 hits.
» Most hits in a game since May 19, 2022, at Penn State (18).
» The Fighting Illini out-hit the Redbirds at a 17-12 clip.
» Illinois scored a season-high 17 runs.
» Most runs in a game since May 19, 2022, at Penn State (18).
» Illinois went 7-for-18 (.389) with runners in scoring position.
» Illinois pitchers faced 43 Illinois State hitters in the game, allowing nine ground balls and 12 fly balls while striking out seven.
» Stranded a total of 11 Redbird baserunners...left the bases loaded twice in the game.
» The Fighting Illini drew seven walks from Illinois State pitching.
This story created through content automation technology from Data Skrive.
