PREVIEW
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. --Â Illinois baseball wraps up its season-long five-game homestand with a midweek contest vs. Indiana State on Tuesday. The Fighting Illini are 4-1 at home this season, outscoring their opponents 67-38.
The Orange and Blue split a doubleheader vs. Valparaiso on Saturday to earn a series win, falling in the opener 13-10 before rebounding for a 14-4 run-rule victory in seven innings in the second game.
Tuesday's ballgame will be televised nationally on Big Ten Network, with Connor McKnight and Scott Pose on the call. First pitch is set for 6 p.m. CT.
Admission to Illinois Field is free all season long. Fans attending the game should refer to the gameday guide for more parking information and updated Illinois Field policies.
SERIES HISTORY
vs. Indiana State
- Record: 42-42-2 (H: 28-18-1, A: 12-23-1, N: 2-1)
- Last: L, 2-13 (6/2/24 at Lexington, Ky.)
- Illinois has won nine of the last 10 matchups in Champaign
- Illini matched series record with 21 runs scored on April 30, 2024
NOTES
ILLINI HOMESTAND CONCLUDES VS. INDIANA STATE
Illinois baseball concludes its season-long five-game homestand with a mid-week contest vs. Indiana State at Illinois Field.
The Orange and Blue used a six-run seventh to run rule Valparaiso, 14-4, in the second game of Saturday's doubleheader to earn a series victory. Jack Zebig slugged a walk-off grand slam to clinch the win while Regan Hall spun his first quality start of the season (6.0 IP, 2 ER) as the Illini improved to 3-1 at home this season.
Connor McKnight and Scott Pose will have the call on Big Ten Network, the first time this season Illinois will play on a national broadcast.
Scott Beatty will call the action for the Illini on the Busey Bank Illini Sports Network (WDWS 1400-AM/93.9FM).
Streaming, audio, and stats links are also available at FightingIllini.com.
ABOUTÂ THE OPPONENT
Indiana State comes into the contest with a 9-11 record, having earned a series win by taking two of three over Pacific at Bob Warn Field in Terre Haute, Ind., last weekend.
IF/OF Carlos Pena is leading the Sycamores at the plate through 14 games this season, posting an overall slash of .338/.415/.592 to go along with seven doubles, a triple, three home runs and 20 RBI.
RHP Max McEwan is the lone qualified arm on the pitching staff, having recorded an overall record of 2-1 with a 3.68 ERA (9 ER/22.0 IP) with 23 strikeouts in six games, three starts. RHP Aaron Moss leads the bullpen with a 3.07 ERA (5 ER/14.2 IP) over seven relief outings.
Indiana State has gone 0-2 against Big Ten opponents this season, dropping a 14-4 contest vs. Purdue on March 4 and a 9-4 game on March 11 vs. Indiana. Both contests were played at Bob Warn Field.Â
The Sycamores went 44-15 last season, including a 22-5 mark in Missouri Valley play to win the regular season conference title. Indiana State then earned a berth to the NCAA Lexington Regional, where they were eliminated by No. 2 national seed Kentucky in the first game of the regional final.
ALL-TIME SERIES INFO
The all-time series between the two programs is tied at 42-42-2, with the Illini holding a 28-18-1 advantage in games played at Illinois Field.
The Illini have also won nine of the last 10 matchups in Champaign.
Illinois fell in the last matchup, 13-2, between two sides on June 2, 2024, in an elimination game in the NCAA Lexington Regional.
The two programs split the four meetings last season, 2-2, splitting the regular season and postseason contests. The Sycamores came away with a 7-6 comeback win on March 12, 2024, before the Illini slugged their way to a 21-11 run-rule victory on April 30, 2024. Jack Crowder turned in the finest performance of his career, holding Indiana State to just one run on three hits over 8.0 innings on May 31, 2024, as Illinois came away with a 4-1 win in the NCAA Lexington Regional.
VALPARAISO WEEKEND RECAP
Illinois won two of three games over Valparaiso over the weekend to conclude its non-conference series slate with a perfect 3-0 record.
Nick Groves led the way offensively, batting .500 (5-for-10) with five runs scored, a double, RBI and four walks. Vytas Valincius also continued his solid start of the season by going 6-for-13 (.462) with a double, home run and six RBI. Collin Jennings (.455) and Grant Ross (.400) were the other Illini to bat over .400 during the series.
Regan Hall fired his first quality start of the season in the second game of the doubleheader on Saturday, holding the Beacons to just two runs on three hits over 6.0 innings. Among relievers, Payton Hutchings led the way with 3.2 scoreless frames in the doubleheader opener on Saturday, allowing just one hit and punching out two. Luke Weber earned his first-career save by twirling 2.1 shutout innings on Friday, yielding one hit to go along with two strikeouts.
As a team, the Orange and Blue slashed .347/.488/.653 slugging a total of eight home runs, including a season-high four long balls in the doubleheader opener on Saturday.
HOME COOKING
After going 20-3 in 2024 at Illinois Field, the Illini have continued their stellar play at home, beginning the 2025 campaign 4-1 in Champaign.
Illinois is outscoring its opponents 67-38 in its five home contests, averaging 13.4 runs per game.
The Fighting Illini have scored at least 10 runs in five-straight games played at Illinois Field, which the longest such streak since at least the 1991 season.
V FOR VALINCIUS
In 16 games this season, Vytas Valincius ranks fourth on the Illini with a .338 batting average, having recorded a hit in 15 games. The senior also ranks second on the team with 23 RBI, having driven in at least one run in 13 contests.
Valincius enters Tuesday's game on a six-game hitting streak, where he has gone 9-for-24 (.375) with a double, home run and nine RBI.
In the series opener vs. Valparaiso on Tuesday, the Lockport, Ill., native, matched his season high with three hits and set a new season-high mark with four RBI.
The senior is also on a 16-game on-base streak, which is currently the longest active streak on the Illini.Â
WALK IT OFF
Illinois earned its first walk-off victory of the season in the second game of Saturday's doubleheader vs. Valparaiso thanks to Jack Zebig's seventh-inning grand slam to lift the Illini to a 14-4 run-rule win over the Beacons.
The Orange and Blue recorded four walk-off wins last season, three of which came via a run rule.
HALL MONITOR
Regan Hall tossed his first quality of the 2025 season in the second game of Saturday's doubleheader vs. Valparaiso, working 6.0 innings of two-run ball, allowing three hits and striking out two.
Hall faced the minimum through the first three innings, before allowing two in the fourth. He then faced the minimum in the fifth and the sixth to improve to 2-0 on the season.
It was the sophomore's first quality start since his collegiate and Illini debut on Feb. 18, 2024, vs. Fordham in Winston-Salem, N.C.
WESTERN ILLINOIS RECAP
Illinois began its season-long five-game homestand with an 11-4 victory over Western Illinois on March 11.
Kyle Schupmann led the way offensively, going 2-for-4 with two runs scored, a double, three RBI and a walk. Nick Groves also tallied a multi-hit effort, going 2-for-3 with two runs scored, a double and an RBI.
Ryan Daly got the start for the Illini and worked 3.0 innings, allowing one run, unearned, on one hit to go along with three strikeouts. Brayden Mazzacano starred in relief, tossing 3.0 scoreless frames, striking out one.
CATCH THEM IF YOU CAN
Through 14 games this season, the Illini have stolen 30 bases in 36 attempts already surpassing their 2024 total of 25 stolen bases.
Nick Groves leads the Illini with 10 stolen bases in 12 attempts, which also ranks tied for second among Big Ten players.
On Feb. 25 vs. Aurora, Cameron Chee-Aloy set the single-game program record with five stolen bases in the contest.
Greg LaChance (4-for-4), Kyle Schupmann (3-for-3) and Vytas Valincius (3-for-3) are also all perfect in multiple stolen base attempts.
CLUTCH HITTING
Through 17 games this season, the Illini have delivered in big spots at the plate, posting a team average of .302 with runners in scoring position as well as a team average of .301 with two outs in an inning. This has led to a total of 71 two-out RBI, which accounts for 45.2 percent (71/157) of runs scored by the offense this season.
Vytas Valincius and Jack Zebig lead the team with nine hits with runners in scoring position and the duo also lead the squad with eight hits with two outs. Zebig leads the squad with 13 two-out RBI.
Illinois has also been successful at moving runners over in their plate appearances, doing so at a .528 clip (199/377).
2024 B1G CHAMPS
For the 31st time in program history, Illinois was crowned Big Ten champions after its 9-4 victory over Purdue on May 17, 2024. The Illini were able to claim an outright title with Nebraska's loss to Michigan State on May 18, 2024. Their 18-10 triumph later that day over the Boilermakers would have also solidified an outright title had the Huskers won.
The conference title was the program's third in the Dan Hartleb era (2006-pres.) and the first since 2015. Hartleb's three Big Ten championships are fifth-most in program history.
Illinois 31 conference titles are second-most all-time in the Big Ten.
ILLINI PLAY LONG BALL
During the 2024 campaign, the Fighting Illini launched 104 home runs, setting a new program record and shattering the previous of 91 (1998) in the process.
Illinois' 104 home runs were the most among Big Ten teams, slugging 21 more than second-placed Indiana (83). It also ranked 28th nationally and ninth among teams that played fewer than 60 games.
The Orange and Blue averaged 1.86 home runs per game, which was the 19th-highest mark in the country and the best in the Big Ten.
Five players tallied double-digit home runs last season (Brody Harding, Ryan Moerman, Jacob Schroeder, Vytas Valincius, Drake Westcott) and were the only team in the conference with more than four players in double figures.
The Illini return 54.8 percent (57/104) of their home run production in 2025.
FOUR IS THE MAGIC NUMBER
Illinois slugged at least four home runs in a single game seven times last season, winning each one of those contests.
The Illini did so for the first time in the 2025 campaign in the first game of the doubleheader vs. Valparaiso on Saturday, but suffered a rare defeat when hitting that mark.
Illinois had eight such games in 2023, going 7-1 in those ballgames. Since 2018, Illinois is 18-3 when they hit at least four homers in a single game.
DAN HARTLEB'S 20TH SEASON
Illinois head coach Dan Hartleb begins his 20th season at the helm of the program in 2025.
The winningest coach in Illini baseball history has currently amassed 577Â wins, three Big Ten championships, one Big Ten Tournament title, five NCAA Regional appearances and one NCAA Super Regional Appearance.
Along with being named Big Ten Coach of the Year two times, Hartleb was named Big Coach of the Decade (2010s), by D1Baseball.
As he enters his 35th season overall at Illinois, Hartleb has seen 148 players have earned Big Ten All-Conference honors under his watch, with 47 of those players earning first-team selections. He's also coached a total of 27 All-Americans and 96 players who have gone on to play professionally.
Among active Big Ten coaches, Hartleb is one of two coaches that have spent at least 20 seasons as head coach at their current school (John Savage, UCLA, 21st season in 2025).Â
HOME SWEET HOME
Illinois finished the 2024 season 20-3 at Illinois Field after taking two of three games from Iowa from May 10-12, 2024.
The Illini also went 8-0 during its season-long homestand from April 9-23, 2024.
It was the first time since 2015 that Illinois won at least 20 home games, with the Illini's .869 winning percentage is the highest mark in program history since 1940 (8-1, .889).
The Orange and Blue were victorious in all six home series last season, earning sweeps over Penn State, Northern Illinois and Northwestern. Overall, Illinois has won nine-straight home series, dating back to 2023.
Following the sweep of Northwestern from April 19-21, 2024, the Illini had won 12-straight Big Ten home games dating back to last season, four series sweeps, which was the longest such streak since the Orange and Blue won 18-straight such games from May 2, 2014, to March 26, 2016.
The Fighting Illini also won their home opener 12-2 over Eastern Illinois at Illinois Field on Feb. 27, 2024. Illinois is 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.
OPENING DAY HISTORY
Illinois is 6-3 in their last nine season openers, following 2025's curtain-raising defeat to Abilene Christian on Feb. 14...the Illini snapped a brief two-game losing streak in season openers in their 9-6 victory over Youngstown State in 2023.
DAN HARTLEB, THE WINNINGEST COACH ATÂ ILLINOIS
Illinois head coach Dan Hartleb earned win No. 519 on April 2, 2023, against Michigan, passing Lee Eilbracht for the most in program history...currently has 577Â career wins.
CLEAN FIELDING
The Illini led the Big Ten in fielding percentage during conference play (.986) last season for the third-straight year and for the fifth time in the last six seasons overall.
The Illini posted a .979 fielding percentage overall and have posted a .970 overall fielding percentage or better in 12 of the last 14 seasons.
NEW YEAR, NEW FACES
Illinois has 17 returners and 18 newcomers on the 2024 roster.
  » Thirteen newcomers are transfers: LHP Zach Bates (Iowa Central CC), RHP Ryan Daly (St. Francis), RHP Mitch Dye (Lincoln Land CC), OF Nick Groves (Niagara), C/1B Will Johannes (Madison College), INF Greg LaChance (Jefferson College), LHP Reece Marley (Case Western Reserve), RHP Christian Morel (Tampa Unviersity), INF/RHP Grant Ross (Madison College), RHP Tyler Schmitt (UW-La Crosse), INF Kyle Schupmann (Cincinnati), OF Alexander Wright (George Washington), INF Jack Zebig (Marryville University)
ILLINI TRIO EARN BIG TEN PRESEASON HONORS
A trio of Illini baseball players were selected Big Ten Preseason Players to Watch, the conference announced on Feb. 12.
Right-hander Ben Plumley along with catcher Jacob Schroeder and first baseman Drake Westcott, were all named to the list.
Plumley is coming off of a breakout 2024 season, where he amassed 33 strikeouts in 35.1 innings of work last season over 23 relief appearances. He had a season-long six-game span (8.1 IP) without allowing an earned run from May 10 to June 1, striking out eight batters compared to three walks.
Schroeder, who earned 2024 College Baseball Foundation All-American Second Team and All-Big Ten First Team honors slashed .306/.434/.613 to go along with seven doubles, 14 home runs and 41 RBI. Schroeder ranked tied for ninth in the Big Ten in home runs and also ranked among conference leaders in slugging (8th) and OPS (1.047, 10th).Â
Westcott slashed .290/.421/.571 to go along with 11 doubles, 16 home runs and 52 RBI. He ranked among conference leaders in walks (T-3rd, 47) and home runs (T-4th). Westcott enters the 2025 campaign with 34 career dingers in the Orange and Blue, 14 away from matching Scott Spiezio's (1991-93) program record of 48.
ONES TO WATCH
D1Baseball Big Ten Top 2025 MLB Draft
Prospects: No. 19 RHP Tyler Schmitt, No. 22 OF Nick Groves, No. 37 RHP Julius Sanchez
D1Baseball Big Ten Top 2026 MLB Draft Prospects: No. 10 OF Cameron Chee-Aloy
Perfect Game Preseason All-Conference Team: 1B Drake Westcott
Perfect Game Big Ten Top 2025 MLB Draft
Prospects: No. 30 RHP Julius Sanchez, No. 38 Ben Plumley
Perfect Game Big Ten Top 2027 MLB Draft Prospects: No. 16 OF/LHP Brayden Mazzacano
ILLINI BASEBALL INKS SEVEN TO 2025 CLASS
"I am extremely excited about the group of great athletes that we have signed to join our Illini family," head coach Dan Hartleb said.Â
"We feel as if this group has the ability to help us to pursue future championships. In the changing times of college athletics, I feel as though our staff did a tremendous job of identifying great athletes and helping to secure their talents which will ensure our success moving forward."
Michael Farina / INF / Mundelein, Ill.
Aidan Flinn / LHP / Mokena, Ill.
Lucas Krebs / SS / Edwardsville, Ill.
Ryan Ohm / RHP / Rochester, Minn.
AJ Putty / 1B / McHenry, Ill.
Jack Wheeler / 3B/RHP / Morris, Ill.
Ike Young / RHP / Cisco, Ill.
UP NEXT
The Fighting Illini return to Big Ten play with a three-game set at Northwestern. First pitch in Friday's series opener is set for 3 p.m. CT.
