Illinois took on ranked Indiana this past weekend and with two great pitching performances by Andy Fisher and Ty Weber, they find themselves back in the thick of things. Illinois won two of three games, keeping the Hoosiers to just one run for the first two games.
As a result of this series, Illinois has leapfrogged Indiana in the D1Baseball.com national rankings. In fact, Indiana has dropped off the polls (19th last week). Illinois is now posted at #25, one spot below #24 Iowa.
The Hoosiers are still in second place in the conference, though. With just two weekends left, Illinois is in sixth place in the Big Ten with a juicy home series against Purdue this weekend. Keep in mind that 2019 Big Ten Baseball Tournament is open to the top eight teams in the conference based on winning percentage.
Congratulations to Illinois starting pitcher Andy Fisher! Because of his spot-on performance on Friday night, the Big Ten awarded him Big Ten Pitcher of the Week.
Fisher’s numbers: 8 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 2 BB, 9 K
Andy has been one of the most underrated pitchers in the conference. His placement of pitches has consistently kept opposing batters guessing.
Friday: Illinois 4 Indiana 0
Behind the tremendous pitching of Andy Fisher, Illinois had no trouble winning Friday night’s game. With the Bleacher Bum BBQ fans watching, Fisher was a master on the mound. In eight innings, he allowed just three hits and kept the Hoosiers scoreless. A well-deserved sixth win for Andy!
Jack Yalowitz went 2 for 4 with two runs scored and Grant Van Scoy (above) boosted his batting average by going 3 for 4 with an rbi. Jeff Korte helped the cause with two valuable sac flies.
FightingIllini.com recap | Box Score | IBR photos
Saturday: Illinois 3 Indiana 1
Not to be outdone, starting pitcher Ty Weber continued to dominate the Indiana Hoosiers as Fisher did the night before. In six innings, he kept them to just two hits and yes, he kept them scoreless. Garrett Acton came on in the ninth inning and earned his B1G-leading 16th save.
All of the Illini offense on Saturday came at the bats of Jack Yalowitz and Michael Massey. Yalo hit a solo homer (that’s it in the photo above) in the fourth inning. In the fifth, Massey hit a homerun to right also scoring Michalak (top photo).
FightingIllini.com recap | Box Score | IBR photos
Sunday: Indiana 9 Illinois 2
In the third inning on Sunday, Indiana scored one run which doubled their total output up until that point for the weekend. Unfortunately, they weren’t finished for the day. They picked away at Illinois pitching scoring a total of nine runs.
Probably the most contentious battle that took place on Sunday was between the home plate umpire and anyone not wearing Hoosier red. The ump took a lot of heat from Illini fans (and Coach Hartleb!) for some questionable calls.
Remember, umpires probably don’t paid a lot and do provide a good service to the game we love. My general rule: If you must, boo the call but not the man.
The Illinois offense was spent by Sunday. By the ninth inning, it was 9-0 and it looked like Indiana was going to get a shutout of their own.
Thank goodness for Casey Dodge.
Dodge who entered the game with seven at-bats and no hits for the season hit a pinch-hit two-run homerun scoring Andrew Dyke. While Dodge’s homer had no bearing on the game result, he gave the home fans something to cheer about.
FightingIllini.com recap | Box Score | IBR photos
Random Ramblings
Old friends, New friends: On Saturday, I had the pleasure to run into five alumni who played on the 2015 Big Ten championship team that got as far as the NCAA Super Regionals. What a team that was! Rob McDonnell, Jason Goldstein, Will Krug, Michael Hurwitz and Kelly Norris-Jones all came down from Chicago to watch the current Illini in action.
Many of the parents, including Rob McDonnell’s dad, Dan (above, making friends with an Indiana fan) were in town too and it was good to catch up with all of them. Thanks everyone!
On Friday, I took a chance and introduced myself to Frank Comia, who is Branden Comia’s father. Frank is really down to earth and we got along great. He has a good sense of humor and I’m looking forward to further chats in the future.
New strategy? On Friday, I noticed that Ty Weber was listed as the designated hitter at game time. Once his spot was up, he was lifted for a pinch hitter.
It was posited to me that Coach Hartleb could have possibly made a mistake on the lineup card given to the umpire but the same thing happened on Saturday and Sunday. I can only surmise this a new strategy by Coach which might give him a slight advantage.
Ben Troike injury: On Saturday, shortstop Ben Troike was hit on his throwing wrist by a pitched ball. Judging by my photos of the event, it looked quite painful. Ben was out on Sunday spelled by versatile Branden Comia.
Get well soon, Ben!
Next up
We are so close to the end of the regular season and even closer to home play. This weekend will be the last home series at Illinois Field. The Illini will host the Purdue Boilermakers for a three-game series. Game time on Friday is 6pm.
Way to go, Illini!!