Behind the efforts of Payton Hutchings (above) and Kellen Sarver, Illinois baseball finished out their opening weekend with a win against the Kansas Jayhawks.
Friday
Kansas 4 Illinois 2
Thanks to a couple of Jayhawk miscues, Illinois seemed to have the upper hand on Friday. However, Kansas came through with a late inning comeback.
Illinois starter Cole Kirschsieper put in seven solid innings allowing just one run. His eight strikeouts is a career best.
Saturday
Kansas 12 Illinois 1
It was all Kansas on Saturday. The Jayhawks scored seven runs in the first two innings and scored five more in the fourth.
In the bottom of the fourth, Jacob Campbell hit a solo homer over the left field fence. That was the only joy Illinois had Saturday.
Sunday
Illinois 7 Kansas 1
On Sunday, a three-run third inning got the Illini going and they never looked back. Kellen Sarver (above) contributed a two-run homerun in addition to a double and a single. Danny Doligale rapped a two-run double later in the sixth inning.
All the while, the Illini pitching was doing its thing. Payton Hutchings earned his first start and win for the Illini as he gave up one run in six innings. Izaak Siefken (who was making his first Illini appearance) and Ty Rybarczyk combined for three scoreless innings.
Random Ramblings
As I see the recaps and box scores from here in cold Champaign-Urbana, here are some thoughts…
I see that at least for the time being, Danny Doligale (above) is being placed in the leadoff spot replacing Taylor Jackson.
That shouldn’t be a big surprise. Rightfielder Doligale is a speed demon.
While Illinois was clobbered 12-1 on Saturday, the Jayhawks were kept scoreless in the last five innings. Who do we have to thank for that? Two pitchers who were making their debuts as Illini. Johnny Czeslawski (above) and Crayton Burnett.
Win or lose, that kind of performance gets you noticed.
So far, Tyler Thompson was the DH in all three games last weekend. I’m not sure if it’s his job to lose or if Coach Dan Hartleb will go with a very different strategy next weekend. Time will tell.
One last thing I noticed… Zak Hartleb came in to play second base in two of the games last weekend. Thinking he was a catcher, I didn’t know that was in his skillset. Sure enough, he is now listed as an infielder on the Illinois baseball roster.
Next up
Middle Tennessee is up on Friday as Illinois travels to Conway, South Carolina. Illinois will also play two games against tough Coastal Carolina on Saturday and Sunday.