CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – Illinois used another strong offensive performance to take down Rutgers, 12-6, at Illinois Field on Saturday afternoon.
The Fighting Illini claimed their second consecutive conference series win while moving to 12-9 overall and 4-4 in Big Ten play.
Nick Groves, J.R. Nelson, and Jack Zebig all registered three hits in the contest, with Groves hitting his first home run of the season in the bottom of the fifth and Zebig powering a third-inning grand slam to right field to open the scoring. Nelson's solo shot in the seventh marked his first homer of the year.
Michael Farina and AJ Putty also posted multi-hit days at the plate for the Illini.
On the mound, Regan Hall recorded his third victory of the season after going 6.2 innings and striking out seven. Kyle Remington entered in relief, collecting three strikeouts in his 2.1 innings of work.
The Orange and Blue opened the scoring with a five-run bottom of the third, highlighted by Zebig's grand slam. After the Scarlet Knights answered with a run in the top of the fourth inning, the Illini accounted for the game's next four runs to extend their lead to 9-1 after five innings.
Rutgers responded with four runs of their own, cutting its deficit to 9-5, but a three-run seventh put the Illinois advantage at seven, 12-5. One Scarlet Knight run the rest of the way sent the Illini to a six-run victory.
GAME NOTES
- Nick Groves went 3-for-5 with three runs scored.
- Extended his on-base streak to 33 games.
- Had his eighth multi-hit game of the season.
- Tied his season-high with three runs scored.
- Scored multiple runs for the fifth time.
- Has scored 3+ runs in back-to-back games.
- Michael Farina posted a 2-for-4 day at the plate with two runs scored and an RBI.
- Tallied his 10th multi-hit game of the season.
- Scored multiple runs for the sixth time.
- Jack Zebig went 3-for-5 with six RBI, a double, and a home run.
- Recorded an Illini career-high six RBI.
- His grand slam marked his second home run of the season.
- Was his first multi-hit game of the season.
- AJ Putty went 2-for-4 with a double.
- Marked his ninth multi-hit game.
- His double was his 15th extra-base hit of the season.
- J.R. Nelson went 3-for-3 with four runs scored and a home run.
- Recorded an Illini career-high with three hits.
- Was his second multi-hit game of the season.
- Hit his first home run of the season.
- Has an RBI in five of the last seven games.
- His four runs scored set a new career-high.
- Tied for the most by an Illini this season.
- Regan Hall earned the win, going 6.2 innings with seven strikeouts.
- Marked his longest outing of the season.
- Tied his season-high with seven strikeouts.
- Has 5+ strikeouts in four of his six starts.
- Kyle Remington recorded 2.1 innings of work with three strikeouts.
- Has 3+ strikeouts in five of his seven outings.
- Has thrown multiple innings in six appearances.
- The Illini scored double-digit runs for the second straight game.
- Have back-to-back 10+-run games for the second time this season.
- Have scored 10+ runs in seven games.
UP NEXT
Illinois (12-9, 4-4 B1G) concludes its three-game set against Rutgers with Sunday's 1 p.m. CT first pitch at Illinois Field. Admission is free, while the game will stream on B1G+.
