CHAMPAIGN, Ill. -- Illinois baseball (14-12, 5-1) swept today's doubleheader vs. Penn State (13-12, 1-5) at Illinois Field, completing a series sweep over the Nittany Lions.
The Illini have now won a season-high five-straight games and have won nine-straight Big Ten home games, dating back to last season.
On the day, the Orange and Blue slugged 11 home runs, six in game one and five in game two. The Illini scored double-digit runs in all both games and have done so in five-straight overall.
GAME 1 | Illinois 17, Penn State 6 (8 inn.)
The Illini overturned an early 6-0 deficit and erupted for 17 runs on 16 hits, including a season-high six home runs, earning the run-rule victory.
Brody Harding went 2-for-4 with three runs scored, two home runs and four RBI. His three-run homer in the eighth capped a 10-run frame and ended the ballgame.
Korery Bunselmeyer picked up the win out of the bullpen, tossing 2.2 scoreless innings, allowing just three hits and striking out two. Jake Rons tallied his second save of the season by working a scoreless eighth.
HOW IT HAPPENED
Penn State put runs on the board in the third, fourth and fifth innings to take a 6-0 lead.
Illinois began chipping away in the fifth, when Harding crushed a solo shot to right to make it 6-1. Camden Janik and Drake Westcott went back-to-back in the sixth with the duo crushing two-run and solo home runs, respectively, to make it 6-4.
The Illini would take the lead in the seventh with three more runs, thanks to a Cameron Chee-Aloy single and Westcott launching his second home run of the day, a no-doubt two-run homer.
Bunselmeyer's scoreless outing allowed the Orange and Blue to comeback in the ballgame, as the senior kept the Nittany Lions off the board in the sixth and seventh.
After Rons tossed his scoreless eighth, Illinois scored 10 times on seven hits in the home half, sending 12 batters to the plate. Jacob Schroeder blasted a two-run shot to start the scoring, with Chee-Aloy picking up an RBI on a sacrifice fly three batters later. Cal Hejza and Janik picked up consecutive RBI hits and Vytas Valincius brought a run home following an intentional walk to Westcott. Schroeder tallied a second RBI in the inning with a single and Harding ended the game with a three-run home run, giving the Illini the 17-6 run-rule victory.
GAME NOTES
» Brody Harding went 2-for-4 with three runs scored, two home runs, four RBI and a walk.
    » First-career multi-HR game.
        » Has a career-high four home runs this season...had five career home runs in 138 games entering 2024.
    » Matched his career high in RBI.
» Drake Westcott went 2-for-4 with three runs, two home runs, three RBI and a walk.
    » Second multi-HR game of the season and the fifth such game of his Illini career.
    » Leads team with nine home runs...tied for first among Big Ten hitters.
    » Has an 1.120 OPS, which ranks eighth among Big Ten batters.
    » Has drawn 29 total walks, which leads the Illini and is second-most among Big Ten hitters.
    » Westcott is slugging .659, which ranks tied for sixth in the Big Ten.
» Cameron Chee-Aloy went 3-for-3 with two runs and two RBI.
    » Second three-hit game in his last four, matching his career high.
    » Has reached base safely in 23 of 24 games.
» The Illini slugged six home runs, a season high and the most since May 7, 2023, vs. Michigan State.
» Every Illinois starter reached base safely in the win.
» Six Fighting Illini had multiple hits in the ballgame.
» The Fighting Illini out-hit the Nittany Lions at a 16-9 clip.
» Illinois went 8-for-14 (.571) with runners in scoring position.
» Illinois pitchers faced 33 Penn State hitters in the game, allowing eight ground balls and six fly balls while striking out five.
GAME 2 | Illinois 12, Penn State 8
Illinois bounced back from an early 4-0 hole to earn a 12-8 comeback victory, sweeping the doubleheader and series vs. Penn State.
Jacob Schroeder went 2-for-3 with three runs scored, two home runs and six RBI, including a go-ahead grand slam with two outs in the fifth. Coltin Quagliano and Cal Hejza each posted three-hit games and went yard, combining for three RBI.
Ben Plumley took the victory out of the bullpen and Joe Glassey picked up the save by allowing just one run over the final 3.2 innings of game, yielding just three hits and whiffing six batters.
HOW IT HAPPENED
The Nittany Lions went ahead 3-0 in the first and would scratch another run across in the third to make it 4-0.
Quagliano and Hejza cut into the lead with solo shots in the third to halve the deficit. After Penn State scored a run in the fourth, Vytas Valincius got the run back by crushing a solo shot to cap a 10-pitch at-bat and Quagliano tallied his second RBI of the game with a single.
Jake Swartz and Ben Plumley kept the Nittany Lions off the board in the fifth, setting up a decisive frame for the Illini. The Orange and Blue would load the bases to start the inning, but Penn State was able to record two outs without allowing any runs to score. Jacob Schroeder came up and slugged a grand slam to give Illinois an 8-5 lead.
Penn State scored twice in the sixth to make it a one-run game, but Illinois hit back with two runs in the bottom half to restore its three-run advantage at 10-7.
The Nittany Lions put a run up in the seventh and looked poised to score more, but Hejza and Brody Harding turned a slick double-play to end the inning.
Schroeder would go yard again on the other side of the stretch, a two-run blast, making it 12-8.
Glassey turned in scoreless eighth and ninth innings, amassing four strikeouts along the way to secure the win and series sweep.
GAME NOTES
» Jacob Schroeder went 2-for-3 with three runs scored, two home runs, six RBI and a walk.
    » First multi-home run game of the season and the third such game of his career.
        » First Illini grand slam of the season and the first grand slam of his career.
    » Career-high six RBI.
    » Extended his career-long hitting streak to eight games.
        » Is batting 13-for-30 (.433) during that span with four doubles, three home runs and 15 RBI.
» Coltin Quagliano went 3-for-4 with two runs scored, a double, home run and two RBI.
    » Extended his hitting streak to five games.
        » Has gone 10-for-20 (.500) during that span with three doubles, a home run and six RBI.
            » Has four multi-hit games during his hitting streak.
    » Leads Illini with 24 RBI.
» Cal Hejza went 3-for-5 with two runs scored, a home run and an RBI.
    » Extended his career-long hitting streak to 10 games.
        » Is batting .318 (14-for-44) during that span.
    » Has an RBI in five-straight contests.
» Illinois improves to 7-1 at Illinois Field this season.
    » The Illini have won nine-straight home Big Ten games, the longest such streak since winning 18-straight from May 2, 2014, to March 26, 2016.
» The Illini have scored double-digit runs in five-straight games, their longest such streak in the Dan Hartleb era (2006-pres.).
» Illinois has won five-straight games, its longest such streak since also winning five-straight from May 3-13, 2022.
» Every Illinois starter reached base safely in the win.
» The Illinois pitching staff combined to strike out 13 Penn State hitters.
» Illinois hitters hit five home runs in the ballgame.
» Illinois went 4-for-8 (.500) with runners in scoring position.
» Illinois pitchers faced 47 Penn State hitters in the game, allowing three ground balls and nine fly balls while striking out 13.
This story created through content automation technology from Data Skrive.
