C-U fans, this is your last chance to see the 2019 Illini baseball team in action! This weekend is the last home series at Illinois Field as the Illini (31-16, 10-8 Big Ten) host the Purdue Boilermakers (19-28, 7-10 Big Ten) for a three-game series.
The Illini who are in sixth place in the conference, are riding high after defeating then-ranked Indiana last weekend and increasing their chances of making the Big Ten Baseball Tournament. Tenth-place Purdue is still in the running for the tourney as well
Pitching probables
- Friday: Fisher 6-1, 2.66 ERA
- Saturday: Ty Weber 4-1, 2.56 ERA
- Cyrillo Watson 4-2, 3.69 ERA
Both Fisher and Weber now have ERAs under 2.70. Watson had a tough outing last Sunday but his still at 3.69.
| Purdue Boilermakers | |
| Illinois Field | |
| Friday, May 10 | 6 pm CT Saturday, May 11 | 3 pm CT Sunday, May 12 | 4 pm CT |  |
Boilermaker Bits
This is the first time the Boilermakers are coming to Illinois since 2015 so we won’t recognize any of the players. At 19-28, Purdue has had better years. On the road, they are even more dismal with a 5-20 record.
Expect to see a lot of Purdue fans at the ballpark this weekend. Dalton Parker hails from nearby St. Joseph, Illinois.
That said, they are showing a better team than the one that started out 1-11 for the season. Zac Fascia is helping with that. He’s currently on an 11-game hit streak.
Purdue will need to win at least one game to avoid getting knocked out of contention for the Big Ten Baseball Tournament with one more series after this weekend.
Random Ramblings
According to FightingIllini.com, Saturday is Honor and Serve Day at Illinois Field. Special jerseys will be auctioned off. Sunday is Senior Day when the baseball program will recognize the outgoing seniors before the game. Note the unconventional 4pm start time on Sunday.
Bren Bombs: Remember when we saw so many of these in 2018??
Bren Spillane is beginning to heat up for the Dayton Dragons. Spillane, now playing right field, has hit two homers in the past three days for the Dragons.
Andy Awarded Again: So Andy Fisher not only garnered the Big Ten pitcher of the Week award but was honored by the NCWBA as the Pitcher of the Week. Andy is finally getting the attention he deserves in my opinion.
Fisher is 6-1 with a 2.66 ERA and 79 Ks in 74 innings. Keep it up, Andy!
Troike out: I had heard rumors that Ben Troike was out for the season but it was officially announced this week.
Ben Troike has always been an integral part of the team and his injury will hurt. Fortunately, freshman Branden Comia is a solid player. Not only that, he already has experience from earlier this season when Michael Massey was in the DH role. Also, Comia is a good choice to lead off as Troike was.
Go get ’em, Illini!!