The Illinois baseball team ended the season with a bang. Four bangs, to be exact. And it was appropriate that as it was Senior Day, three of those homers were hit by seniors.
Overall, Illinois seniors had a big impact on the weekend against UT Martin. The Illini won two of the three games including Saturday’s Senior Day finale.
Thursday: Illinois 7 UTM 3
Cam McDonald and Branden Comia were the big offensive heroes on Thursday. McDonald doubled and homered and collected four rbis while Comia drove in two with a double.
Starter Jack Wenninger pitched well (2 ER in 5 IP) but it was senior Joe Glassey who picked up his third win of the year. TJ Constertina came in for save number 4.
Friday: UTM 6 Illinois 4
Illinois couldn’t quite pull it off on Friday. UTM got off to an early lead and the Illini weren’t able to capitalize on baserunners.
Drake Westcott and Camden Janik (who went 5 for 5 for the day) went back-to-back jack in an attempted rally in the ninth.
Kudos to Gabe Helder, John Lundgren and Tommy White who did their best to keep Illinois in the game. They combined for 5 2/3 innings of scoreless effort.
Saturday: Illinois 15 UTM 7
Senior Day was just about what you want in a ballgame. Perfect weather, lots of offense, and most of all going out with a comeback win.
Danny Doligale started us off with a two-run homerun but the Illini were down 6-2 by the bottom of the fourth. Branden Comia sealed the fate of the game with a grand slam, putting Illinois ahead for good 9-7.
Brody Harding and Coltin Quagliano contributed dingers for insurance.
Again, nice work by the bullpen! Logan Tabeling (who got the W), TJ Constertina, Ryan O’Hara and Jack Crowder kept the SkyHawks scoreless for the last four innings.
Well done, gentlemen!
All photos from this weekend (and more!) can be found at the IBR photo gallery.
So now what?
Since the UTM series was a non-conference one, it had no bearing on whether Illinois would qualify for the Big Ten Baseball Tournament. But the right teams won and more importantly, the right teams lost.
That means Illinois is headed to Omaha!
As the 7th seed, Illinois is scheduled to face 2nd seed Indiana on Tuesday at 2pm at Charles Schwab Field. There is no official word yet, but I have to think Jack Wenninger will be the opening starter.
Sadly, I won’t be in Omaha this week. You can bet I will be listening to Scott Beatty online.
I’ve said it before… Big Ten Baseball Tournament Central is your friend if you want to keep up to date on everything Tournament-related.
Random Ramblings
I’m so glad I was able to get this photo of Cam McDonald, Brody Harding and Branden Comia. These three have been the face of Illinois Baseball for the last four years. It is amazing what they have contributed to the program on and off the field.
From what I understand, Cam and Branden are off to bigger and better things. Brody is eligible for one more year with Illinois.
And while we’re getting all sentimental…
…a shout-out to Matt Wright.
Matt is a facilities attendant at the ballpark (read more about Matt here) but he is so much more than that. Players, parents and fans all love this guy. I’ve seen players from ten years ago make comments about Matt saying “he’s the best in the biz”. Even Coach Hartleb called him out during a past Hot Stove Banquet for his dedication to the team.
Okay Illini, you know your job.