Illinois baseball had a successful weekend in Ball State. The bats certainly showed up. Illinois scored 23 runs in the three games against the Western Kentucky Hilltoppers. Winning two of three games, they upped their record to a more respectable 5-8.
Cam McDonald continues to hit as he now owns an 11-game hit streak. Cam contributed a three-run homer on Friday night. That’s his third dinger of the season and his 13 rbis leads the team.
Danny Doligale went 6 for 14 including a four-hit game on Sunday. Danny is now hitting .309 for the season and leads the team in steals with four.
These winning ways come on the heels of Illinois’ second home game, another midweek game on Tuesday. This time, the Illini will be facing Butler. The Bulldogs are now even at 7-7.
On the mound
Jack Crowder
This will be our first look at Jack Crowder at home. In fact, Crowder hasn’t made an appearance in this season yet. From the looks of it, he’s got a new hair style.
Here is the midweek game preview from FightingIllini.com. Gametime is at 4pm.
Random Ramblings
Neither the aforementioned McDonald nor Doligale (above) are pacing the Illini in hitting at this point. That honor goes to second baseman Brody Harding who is batting at a nice .351 clip. Brody picked up four hits against the Hilltoppers on Friday and two more in the first game on Sunday. He is coming on strong for someone who had just three hits in the first six games.
With construction happening around Illinois Field, Illinois baseball thought it prudent to post an update on parking when attending home games:
Sorry, it’s looks like you may have to walk a bit.
Maybe it has to do with his three homers but Cam McDonald has been hit by the pitch four times already in the early season. Cam, be safe out there!!
Tuesday’s game condition looks to be much warmer than last week. The sun may even make an appearance.
See you at the ballpark!