#2 Illinois hopes to clinch against the Huskers

Big Ten Player of the Week Jason Goldstein hopes to add a few more ribbies against the Huskers

For the last conference series of the 2015 season, #2 Illinois (43-6-1, 19-1 Big Ten) will host the Nebraska Cornhuskers (34-19, 9-12 Big Ten) at Illinois Field for a Thursday-Friday-Saturday series.

What’s on the line?  A lot.  First of all, the Illini’s magic number for the Big Ten championship is down to just two.  They are battling it out with the second place Iowa Hawkeyes who have an 18-3 conference record.  Here are the current Big Ten standings.  A good showing for Illinois would not only clinch the championship for them but also give them the top seed in the Big Ten Tournament.

Also, with 43 wins, the Illini now are tied with the most wins in the nation.  Not only that, Illinois’s 24-game winning streak currently is the longest active streak.  One more win will and they will surpass Texas A&M with the longest streak all season.

Finally, Illinois’ 14-game home winning streak is the longest in the country.

So yeah, this weekend has some pretty important implications.  Coach Hartleb has the pitching probables up in this weekend’s preview on FightingIllini.com:

• Thursday  Kevin Duchene: 9-1, 0.95 ERA
• Friday  Drasen Johnson: 8-2, 2.20 ERA
• Sunday  John Kravetz: 4-0, 3.84 ERA

 

My take on Nebraska: 

Huskers Coach Darin Erstad may have been coy or just frustrated during his post-game interview last Sunday when he talked about his chances against Illinois.  Regardless, I probably wouldn’t read too much into it.  Despite the Cornhuskers recent performance in conference play, they bring a lot to the table.

The Cornhuskers were one of the top 2015 pre-season favorites in the Big Ten and they vindicated that to some degree.  Between March 10 and April 1, they only lost one game.  That included sweeps of Texas and Michigan.

However, they hit a roadblock when they played Maryland and lost all three.  Two weekends later they lost a series to the then up-and-coming Buckeyes and then got swept by the still tough Iowa Hawkeyes.  That now leaves them with a mediocre 9-12 Big Ten record.

But rest assured, Darin Erstad knows his stuff and the Cornhuskers are still a tough team.

Quick take:  Despite the Huskers latest performance, the Illini will need to play tough.  It will be a question of Husker pitching vs. Illinois hitting.  After Sunday’s game, Illinois has the edge.

 

Random Ramblings

If you haven’t already seen it, check out Fighting Illini Athletics’ highlight video for Sunday’s game against Rutgers.  It’s an homage to the RBI Baseball video game from the 80’s.

 

 

Since they’ve released the video on YouTube, it’s gone as viral as a college baseball highlight can.  Kudos to the production crew on that one… and of course the Illini players!

Don’t forget this Saturday is Senior Day at Illinois Field.  Eleven seniors will be saying goodbye to the University of Illinois and will be recognized for their service to the team before the game.

Those graduating players are:

• #32 Josh Ferry (2012-15)
• #3 Casey Fletcher (2014-15)
• #35 Drasen Johnson (2011-15)
• #12 David Kerian (2012-15)
• #23 John Kravetz (2012-15)
• #40 Will Krug (2012-15)
• #16 Rob McDonnell (2011-15)
• #31 Anthony Milazzo (2012-15)
• #43 Trevor Murphy (2014-15)
• #4 Kelly Norris-Jones (2011-15)
• #7 Reid Roper (2011-15)

That’s a lot of talent leaving one team.  As it is, this is the largest graduating class in Coach Hartleb’s tenure.  Thanks Seniors!

See you at the ballpark!!