| Probable Starting Pitchers |
| Day |
Illinois |
Minnesota |
| Fri. 4 p.m. CT |
RHP Jack Crowder (1-1, 5.65) |
LHP Tucker Novotny (0-3, 5.76) |
| Sat. 2 p.m. CT |
LHP Cooper Omans (2-1, 3.86) |
RHP Will Semb (1-3, 8.60) |
| Sun. 1 p.m. CT |
RHP Jake Swartz (1-0, 4.45) |
LHP Connor Wietgrefe (2-2, 4.06) |
PREVIEW
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. -- Illinois baseball returns to Big Ten play with a weekend series at Minnesota at Siebert Field. First pitch in Friday's series opener is set for 4 p.m. CT.
The Orange and Blue are coming off of a series sweep of Penn State at Illinois Field from March 29-30, pushing their winning streak to a season-high five games. The Illini improve to 7-1 at Illinois Field in 2024.
RHP Jack Crowder (1-1, 5.65) is set to get the ball in the opener, with LHP Cooper Omans (2-1, 3.86) and RHP Jake Swartz (1-0, 4.45) set to follow in the rotation.
SERIES HISTORY
vs. Minnesota
- Record: 110-112-1 (H: 49-46-1, A: 59-56, N: 2-10)
- Last: W, 6-5 (4/23/23 at Champaign, Ill.)
- Illini have won eight of the last 10 matchups
- Illinois has won six-straight road series, dating back to 2006
NOTES
WEEKEND ACTION ATÂ MINNESOTA
Illinois baseball continues Big Ten play with a three-game weekend series at Minnesota.
All three games can be streamed on B1G+.
Scott Beatty will call the action for the Illini on the Busey Bank Illini Sports Network (1400 AM/93.9FM). Streaming, audio, and stats links are also available at FightingIllini.com.
ABOUT THE OPPONENT
Minnesota enters the contest 11-12, coming off of a series defeat last weekend defeat at Iowa in its first Big Ten series of the season.
Among qualifies, INF Jake Perry leads the Golden Gophers at the plate with a .317 average to go along with three home runs and 16 RBI. Among starters, LHP Connor Wietgrefe leads on the mound, going 2-2 with a 4.06 ERA (17 ER/37.2 IP) to go along with 36 strikeouts.
Minnesota went 18-34 last season with a 10-14 record in Big Ten play.
ALL-TIME SERIES INFO
Illinois narrowly trails in the all-time series 110-112-1, but holds a 59-56 advantage in road games. The first meeting between the two programs was on June 5, 1900, where the Illini were victorious in an 8-3 ballgame.
The Orange and Blue claimed a series sweep over the Golden Gophers last season at Illinois Field, capped by a dramatic walk-off victory in the series finale on April 23, 2023.
Illinois has won eight of the last 10 matchups overall and have won six-straight series over Minnesota on the road, dating back to 2006.
B1G WEEKEND IN CHAMPAIGN
Illinois continued its hot start to Big Ten play by sweeping Penn State to improve to 5-1 in conference play. The Illini have now won six-straight games against the Nittany Lions and 22 of the last 24 overall.
The Illini batted .378 as a team, tallying eight doubles and 12 home runs over the series. Eight different Illinois batters homered over the weekend and seven had a series batting average of at least .300. Jacob Schroeder led the way at the plate, slashing .583/.643/1.500 with two doubles, three home runs and nine RBI.
Korey Bunselmeyer and Joe Glassey turned in big outing out of the bullpen, with Bunselmeyer working 2.2 scoreless in the series opener on March 29 and Glassey allowing just one earned run over the final 3.2 innings in the series finale on March 30. The staff as a whole amassed 29 strikeouts compared to 12 walks.
In the first game of the doubleheader on March 30, the Illini put together one of their best days at the plate this season, setting season-high marks in runs (17), home runs (6) and extra-base hits (8). The 17 runs scored are the most in a Big Ten game by Illinois since scoring 18 at Penn State on May 19, 2022. It also was the first time since May 7, 2023, vs. Michigan State that the Illini homered six times in a single game.
ILLINI OFFENSE, SO HOT RIGHT NOW
Illinois' offense continued its torrid stretch of play by scoring double-digit runs in all three games vs. Penn State, running its streak of such games to five, coming against three different opponents.
It is the first time in the Dan Hartleb era (2006-pres.) that the Illini have scored at least 10 runs in five-straight games. It is also the first time since March 12-23, 1994, that Illinois has scored 10+ runs in five-straight ballgames, which they did so against five different opponents.
COMEBACK KIDS
During Illinois' series sweep over Penn State, the Illini trailed at one point in all three ballgames. In the series opener on March 29, Illinois overturned a two-run deficit. In the first game of the doubleheader on March 30, the Illini came back from down 6-0, making it their largest comeback win of the season. In the series finale, Illinois rallied from down 4-0.Â
In total, the Illini have won eight games this season in which they have trailed.
BIG INNINGS IN B1G GAMES
Through six Big Ten games this season, the Illinois offense has put crooked numbers up on the scoreboard in 13 of 51 innings. The Illini have three eight-run frames and a season-high 10-run inning during that span.
FOUR IS THE MAGIC NUMBER
Illinois slugged six home runs in the first game of the doubleheader on March 30 vs. Penn State, setting a new season-high mark. It's the most home runs the Illini have hit in a single game since also launching six on May 7, 2023, vs. Michigan State.
The Illini also hit five home runs in the doubleheader finale, giving them three games this season with four home runs or more.Â
Illinois had eight such games last season, going 7-1 in those contests. Since 2018, Illinois is 14-2 when they hit at least four homers in a single game.Â
WALK IT OFF
The Fighting Illini earned their second walk-off win of the season in the first game of the doubleheader on March 30, when Brody Harding blasted a three-run shot in the eighth to earn a 17-6 run-rule victory over Penn State.
Illinois has now matched their walk-off win total from the 2023 campaign.
HOME SWEET HOME
Illinois improved to 7-1 at Illinois Field this season following their series sweep over Penn State. Dating back to last season, the Illini have now won nine-straight Big Ten home games, three series sweeps, which is the longest such streak since the Orange and Blue won 18-straight such games from May 2, 2014, to March 26, 2016.
Illinois went 11-8 at home during the 2023 campaign.
The Fighting Illini also won their home opener 12-2 over Eastern Illinois at Illinois Field on Feb. 27. Illinois is now 8-3 in its last 11 home openers and the 12 runs scored are the most since also scoring 12 in the 2021 home opener vs. Northwestern.
DRAKE RAKES
Drake Westcott homered twice in the first game of the doubleheader on March 30 for his second multi-homer game of the season and the fifth such performance of his career.
Westcott is tied for the Big Ten lead in home runs with nine and also ranks among conference leaders in walks (29, 2nd), slugging (.659, T-5th) and OPS (1.120, 8th).
Three of the Edwardsville, Ill., native's big flies this season have gone to the opposite field. Westcott hit eight of his 18 dingers last season the opposite way.
FEELING THE CHEE-SIEST
Cameron Chee-Aloy put together another great Big Ten series vs. Penn State, going 5-for-13 (.385) with three runs scored and three RBI.
Chee-Aloy extended his hitting streak to a season-high matching eight games, going 14-for-36 (.389) with a double, seven RBI and four walks during that span. He also has four multi-hit games during his streak, including a career-high three hits twice.
In his first-six career Big Ten games, Chee-Aloy has gone 10-for-26 (.385) with eight runs scored, a double, four RBI and four walks for an overall slash of .385/.469/.423.
The Toronto native has reached base safely in 23 of 24 games to begin his career and is currently on a season-high 12-game on-base streak.
B1G PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Redshirt senior catcher Jacob Schroeder has been named Big Ten Player of the Week, the conference announced Monday.
Schroeder went 8-for-15 (.533) with nine runs scored, three doubles, three home runs, nine RBI and four walks over four games, posting a .632 on-base percentage while slugging an incredible 1.333.
The Chicago native started the week by doubling, scoring twice and walking twice vs. Missouri on March 26 before going 7-for-12 (.583) with seven runs, two doubles, three home runs, nine RBI and two walks during the Illini's three-game sweep of Penn State. In Saturday's series finale, Schroeder homered twice, including a two-out go-ahead grand slam in the fifth, and drove in six runs.
Schroeder's big week extended his hitting streak to a career-high eight games, in which he has gone 13-for-30 (.433) with four doubles, five home runs and 15 RBI. He has raised his batting average from .192 to .321 during that span.
This marks the first time in his Illini career that Schroeder has earned conference weekly honors. He becomes the second Illinois player this season to earn weekly honors, joining Drake Westcott.
UP NEXT
Illinois returns to Illinois Field on Tuesday, April 9, for an in-state showdown vs. Illinois State. First pitch is scheduled for 6 p.m. CT.
