Let me say that the Fall college baseball season is pretty awesome. It is a somewhat recent development and since Illinois has engaged in it, it has added enough baseball in our lives to tide us over till the spring.
Illinois concluded their Fall season on Sunday winning two of the three games.
Illinois 10 UIS 4
I unfortunately couldn’t attend Illinois’ first game on September 24 versus UI-Springfield in which the Illini won 10-4. Redshirt freshman Christian Smith drove in four runs and Danny Doligale added two rbis in the win.
Ryan Moerman and Xavier Watson also reached base four times.
Illinois 12 Great Lake Canadians 1
On September 27, Illinois won big time against GLC but the big story was the homecoming of GLC head coach Chris Robinson. Robinson was the catcher for Illinois who at the time, was the highest drafted Illini in the MLB draft in 2005. Robinson later enjoyed a cup of coffee with San Diego in 2013. An Ontario native, Chris has a definite Canadian connection. He was a nine-time member of the Canadian National Team.
We were glad to have you back, Chris!!
Apparently, very glad as the Illini had their way with GLC 12-1. Connor Milton and Cal Hejza drove in two runs each. Branden Comia added a run-scoring triple.
Indiana State 8 Illinois 3
Illinois hosted the tough Sycamores on October 2. I don’t know if this is good or not but neither team got a hit until Christian Smith slapped a double in the bottom of the fifth inning. The first run came on Danny Doligale’s inside-the-park homerun. That score stood for nine innings but unfortunately, it was a 14-inning affair.
Indiana State found their bats and rallied in the last five frames.
Per usual, the Fall season was a good chance to see some of the new players… the freshmen and transfers. A lot of them came through too!