CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – The Fighting Illini opened their final Big Ten home series of the season with a 12-0 run-rule victory over Northwestern at Illinois Field on Friday night.

Regan Hall, Sam Reed, and Olivier Martel combined for the seven-inning shutout, while four different hitters recorded a multi-hit day at the plate.

Hall went five scoreless innings with seven strikeouts en route to his seventh win of the season. Reed worked a 1-2-3 frame in the sixth, while Martel fanned one in the seventh to complete the shutout.

Collin Jennings finished a double shy of the cycle, going 3-for-4 with three RBI and three runs scored. Nick Groves, Will Johannes, and AJ Putty tallied two hits apiece, while Johannes, Putty, and J.R. Nelson all drove in two runs.

Jennings' homer opened the scoring in the bottom of the second before the Illini tallied seven runs in the third. Putty and Johannes both posted multi-RBI hits in the frame, which saw the hosts extend their edge to 8-0.

After Hall recorded another scoreless inning in the top of the fourth, Illinois added to its advantage with four runs in the bottom half of the frame, bringing their lead to double digits.

The Illini pitching staff finished the job with three scoreless innings to round out the shutout run-run triumph.

POSTGAME NOTES

• Nick Groves went 2-for-3 with a walk and a run scored.
  • Tallied his 16th multi-hit game of the season.
  • Has now reached safely in 10 straight games.
• Jack Zebig went 1-for-2 with two walks and two runs scored.
  • Has reached safely in 14 straight contests.
  • Has a hit in six straight games.
  • Scored multiple runs for the third time.
  • Drew multiple walks for the seventh time this season.
• AJ Putty went 2-for-4 with two RBI.
  • Notched multiple RBI for the team-high 13th time. 
  • Recorded his 16th multi-hit game of the season.
• Kyle Schupmann recorded a 1-for-4 day at the plate and scored twice.
  • Has reached safely in 15 games in a row.
  • Scored multiple runs for the 14th time.
  • Has a hit in four straight games.
• Collin Jennings went 3-for-4 with a home run, a triple, and three RBI.
  • Tied his career-high with three hits.
    • Marked the fourth three-hit game of his career and his second of the season.
    • Had multiple hits for the 10th time.
    • Has a six-game hitting streak.
  • Hit his team-leading 14th home run of the season.
    • Has a homer in three straight games.
  • Now has multiple RBI in 12 games.
  • Tied his season-high with three runs scored.
    • Scored three runs for the fifth time.
    • Scored multiple runs for the 12th time.
    • Has scored in six straight games.
• Daniel Contreras went 1-for-2 with two runs scored.
  • Scored multiple runs for the sixth time.
• Wil Johannes went 2-for-4 with two RBI.
  • Logged his 12th game with multiple RBI.
  • Registered his 11th multi-hit game of the season.
• J.R. Nelson went 1-for-2 with two RBI.
  • Has reached safely in eight straight games.
  • Had multiple RBI for the seventh time.
• Regan Hall earned the start and the win, throwing five shutout innings with seven strikeouts.
  • Marked his seventh win of the season.
  • Was his second scoreless start of the season.
  • Had at least seven strikeouts for the fourth time.
• Sam Reed registered a scoreless inning in relief.
  • Was his 10th scoreless appearance of the season.
    • Has four straight scoreless outings.
• Olivier Martel tossed a scoreless seventh inning.
  • Has seven scoreless appearances this season.
• The Illini secured their fourth run-rule win of the season.
• Illinois notched its third shutout of the year.
  • Was the team's second Big Ten shutout.

UP NEXT

Illinois (25-23, 11-14 B1G) continues its home series against Northwestern with Game 2 on Saturday at 5:30 p.m. CT. The contest serves as Senior Day for the Fighting Illini program, with the game set to air nationally on Big Ten Network.