Illinois baseball (8-10) will try their luck on the road this weekend. In a three-game series, fourth place Indiana will host the Illini in Bloomington. The Hoosiers are now 11-7 but get this; they are on a five-game losing streak. While Illinois has been going through a roller coaster season, Indiana’s season looks more like a bell curve.
That can mean one of two things; Illinois can take advantage of Indiana’s woes. Or the Hoosiers are due for a comeback. Coming off a 1-2 weekend against the Huskers which put them in first place, the Illini certainly hope it’s the former.
On the mound
Nate Lavender (3-0, 1.12 ERA) will get another Friday start after a good outing last weekend. Riley Gowens (1-1, 5.87 ERA) is on the mound this Saturday against the Hoosiers.
On Sunday, we will see the return of Andrew Hoffman (0-0, 3.68 ERA) who had last weekend off. Hoffman is looking for his first win despite some very solid appearances.
| Indiana Hoosiers | |
| Bert Kaufman Stadium | |
| Friday, April 9 | 4pm CT Saturday, April 10 | 1pm CT Sunday, April 11 | 12pm CT |  |
Random Ramblings
Please note that according to FightingIllini.com, “No public admission will be allowed at the games this weekend.” Attendance policies differ from one facility to another.
This falls in the “In case you were wondering” department. What is a Hoosier?
Illini Branden Comia is second in hits with 27 and one of only three hitters with a .400 batting average (.403). Combined with Justin Janas’ .377 mark, that helps give Illinois a conference-leading .294 average. They lead Nebraska by seven points.
And don’t forget about the slugging prowess of Jackson Raper…
Raper, a senior, is new to the Illini and boy, he brings the bat!
A quick note: I’ve honed the individual player photo galleries on the Illinois Baseball Report photo gallery to make them more public. I did a soft launch of them last year but I wanted make everyone (especially parents) aware of its existence.
Essentially, each player (well, most) has a curated gallery of photos of them I’ve taken. The photos you see were taken at home games and practice from their time at Illinois. You can access the list of the player galleries here at the Illinois baseball player photo galleries page. Past Illinois players are listed toward the bottom. Enjoy!
Go Illini!