It’s going to be a big weekend for food, fun and of course, baseball! Illinois is hosting #19 Indiana for a three-game conference series. Illinois will be getting the fans out Friday night with their annual Bleacher Bum BBQ promotion.
Having won seven of their last nine games, Illinois hopes to continue this success with the Big Ten Baseball Tournament fast approaching. After a slow conference start, things are picking up! Illinois is currently tied for fifth place with Maryland and Minnesota with an 8-7 record.
Pitching probables
- Friday: Andy Fisher 5-1, 2.98 ERA
- Saturday: Ty Weber 3-1, 2.85 ERA
- Sunday: Cyrillo Watson 4-1, 3.38 ERA
| Indiana Hoosiers | |
| Illinois Field | |
| Friday, May 3 | 6pm CT Saturday, May 4 | 3pm CT Sunday, May 5 | 1pm CT |  |
Who are the Hoosiers?
With a 11-4 conference record, Indiana comes in second in the Big Ten a half game behind Michigan. Interestingly, the one team they swept was tough Iowa who are now in fourth place. They lost a game apiece against Michigan State and Penn State who remain in the cellar.
I’m not disrespecting the Hoosiers. No sir. They have already won 30 games this season and certainly deserve their #19 ranking by D1Baseball.com. Matt Lloyd is particularly tough, leading the Big Ten in homeruns with 14 and rbis with 45.
Hoosier hurlers Andrew Saarlfrank sports a 2.31 ERA (5th in B1G) and Pauly Milto is second in the conference in Ks with 77.
Random Ramblings
Friday night’s game will be prefaced with this year’s annual Bleacher Bum BBQ. If you want free food, come to Illinois Field early. Gates will open at 4:30 and BBQ will begin to be served at 5pm.
And yes, beer will be sold (that’s not free) as it will for the rest of the season. More information on FightingIllini.com.
Congratulations to Garrett Acton who broke the season save record on Wednesday night against Indiana State. With his 15th save in Illinois’ 5-2 win, he broke his tie with Tyler Jay (2015) and Joey Gerber (2018) for most saves in one season by an Illini pitcher. That’s one reason Acton has been added to the NCBWA Stopper of the Year list.
Illinois had a big win against the Sycamores who came into Wednesday’s game with a 32-9 record. Zac Taylor had a big day at the plate going 2 for 3 with a triple and two rbis.
Starter Quinn Snarskis pitched five solid innings giving up just one run and Quinten Sefcik got the win with two innings of relief. Acton, of course, got the save.
Stat time
From the FightingIllini.com weekend preview, this is a doozy:
Winning Percentage vs. RPI Top 50
1. UCLA (12-4, .750)
2. Stanford (8-3, .727)
3. Arkansas (14-6, .700)
4. Vanderbilt (16-7, .696)
5. Illinois (9-4, .692)
Let’s go Illini! Friday is my birthday and all I want is an Illinois win!!
Big weekend for sure. The Illini would put themselves in great position for NCAA Tournament by taking two out of three against the Hoosiers.