Powered by first baseman slugger and hometown hero Kellen Sarver, Illinois (21-20) won two of three games against Penn State (17-23) this past weekend for their last home series at Illinois Field. That gives Illinois a winning record at 21-20!
To be fair, Champaign native Sarver had a lot of help. Pitcher Andrew Hoffmann, secondbaseman Cal Hejza, thirdbaseman Jackson Raper, all of the Illini… contributed in their way. But it was Sarver who came away with the Big Ten Co-Player of the Week award.
For the weekend, Sarver was 6 for 12 with two doubles and three homeruns. He scored six runs and drove home seven. Sarver is the second Illini with conference honors this season and the first non-pitcher.
Congratulations Kellen!
Friday
 | Penn State | 0 |
 | Illinois | 9 |
Sometimes you want a nice uneventful game when the Illini lead is never in question. Friday was certainly one of those games.
An Illini second-inning included Cal Hejza’s first career (see the big smile on his face?). After getting off to a 3-0 lead, Andrew Hoffmann pitched brilliantly. For seven innings, he allowed four hits and just one walk. And yes, no runs.
Alex Vera pitched two scoreless innings. No save for Alex because the Illini were up 9-0 thanks to two homeruns by Jackson Raper. One was an inside-the-park jobber that most likely should have been ruled an automatic homerun as it bounced back in. It was still awesome to Jackson dive into homeplate.
Fighting Illini recap | Illinois Baseball Report photos
Saturday
| Penn State | 8 |
| Illinois | 14 |
It was Saturday night that Kellen Sarver really showed was he was made of. He went 3 for 4 with two homeruns including a grandslam. That’s him hitting it in the photo above. All told, he drove in six runs for the game.
Jacob Campbell and Taylor Jackson also contributed dingers. Ryan Kutt earned his first win of 2021 in relief.
Fighting Illini recap | Illinois Baseball Report photos
Sunday
| Penn State | 13 |
| Illinois | 4 |
Penn State stopped Illinois’ five-game win streak on Sunday. Riley Gowens took the loss but it’s safe to say that Penn State let loose on everyone.
All four Illini runs came on two homeruns by Kellen Sarver and Jackson Raper. That wasn’t enough as Penn State led the entire game.
Fighting Illini recap | Illinois Baseball Report photos
Random Ramblings
I had a chance to talk to Bill Virbitsky, the father of Penn State hurler Kyle Virbitsky who won Sunday’s game. We met briefly on Friday and struck up a conversation. Don’t worry, I’m not fraternizing with the enemy. However, I do enjoy meeting others and find I learn a lot about Big Ten baseball this way.
Bill seemed like nice guy too. Boy, his son could pitch, too.
475
Finally, a word about Coach Hartleb…
I started covering Illinois Baseball in 2006, the year after they won the Big Ten Championship. Coincidentally, that was the year Itch Jones retired and his assistant coach took over. It was going to be some guy named Dan Hartleb.
Over the years, Dan Hartleb exhibited a hands-off style on the field but had a huge impact on those players who lives he’s touched. He lets his players think for themselves and on top of that he emphasizes academics for those under his charge.
Dan Hartleb’s success in the Big Ten is undeniable. He was awarded the Big Ten Baseball Coach of the Decade in 2020 (wow, that was just last year).
Congrats on 475, Coach!
Next up
This coming weekend is Illinois’ last series of the season. They will be traveling to Piscataway, New Jersey to face Rutgers.