After a truly one-of-a-kind, record-breaking weekend in which Illinois (20-13, 7-2 Big Ten) swept the Northern Illinois Huskies, they will host state rival Northwestern this weekend for three games.
Last weekend, the Illini were helped by Jacob Schroeder who was honored with the Big Ten Player of the Week award. Schroeder went 7 for 11 with four homers and eleven rbis.
Sans Schroeder, the case could have made for a few other Illini too. Drake Westcott homered three times on Sunday. After Saturday’s game, I figured Ryan Moerman was in the hunt. Then there’s Cameron Chee-Aloy with his 15-game hit streak… well, you get the picture.
It’s like most of Illinois’ great years. It’s a team effort.
Friday: Illinois 15 NIU 5
The first batter that Jack Crowder faced on Friday homered. Two batters later, the ball went over the fence. Fortunately, Crowder settled down and the Illini offense got to work.
And boy, did they ever! Ryan Moerman, Coltin Quagliano and Jacob Schroeder all homered. Quagliano drove in five runs on the night. Overall, 15 Illini touched home plate and I thought that was going to be the high point of the weekend.
Was I ever wrong!
Saturday: Illinois 16 NIU 5
Things only got hotter on Saturday as Illinois won decisively. Moerman added two more homeruns, including a grandslam. At the end of the day, he was leading the Big Ten.
To put a cherry on top, veteran Connor Milton belted his first career homerun as an Illini!
Cooper Omans won his third game of the season.
Sunday: Illinois 21 NIU 11
Okay, the running joke in my head on Sunday was “what are they going to do, score 17?” The joke was on me because Illinois scored 21 runs!
Drake Westcott and Jacob Schroeder both exploded for three homeruns each. That gave Westcott the conference lead in dingers.
Illinois needed that punch because it was a comeback game. At one point, Illinois was down 8-3. Our guys are no strangers to that kind of thing and they responded like they have all year.
Cal Hejza homered and drove in four. Cameron Chee-Aloy extended his hitting streak to 15 games with a triple and a homer.
See all my photos from the 2024 season in the IBR photo gallery.
This graphic by Fighting Illini really sums up the weekend.
In my time since 2005, I have never seen such a potent offense such as this year’s Illini lineup.
The ‘Cats are coming to town
The weather at Illinois Field will be pretty decent. Friday and Saturday might show some clouds but sun is in the forecast. Overall, it will be cooler than last weekend but not too frigid.
Here’s the Fighting Illini weekend preview.
Northwestern Wildcats
W-12 L-20 (2-7 Big Ten)
Friday 6pm CT
Saturday 4pm CT
Sunday 1pm CT
Northwestern News: The Wildcats are currently 12-20 overall and reside in last place in the Big Ten with a 2-7 conference record.
But before we get too dismissive of Northwestern, consider this: they are coming off a series win off sometime-baseball-powerhouse Maryland. The Wildcats won two games and lost Sunday’s matchup in extras.
Be careful, Illini. They may be getting hot.
On the mound
There is a slight change in this weekend’s rotation. Sunday’s slot is yet to be determined.
| Friday | Jack Crowder | 2-1, 5.36 ERA |
| Saturday | Cooper Omans | 3-1, 3.96 ERA |
| Sunday | TBD |
Both Jack Crowder and Cooper Omans earned wins last weekend. Cooper Omans has risen to eighth in the Big Ten with his 3.96 ERA.
Random Ramblings
On a serious note, the Illinois Family is bonding together to help Coach Mark Allen and his family during his battle with cancer. Some of the parents of the players asked me to pass on the GoFundMe info to help the Allen family and I am more than happy to oblige.
In addition, there will be a fundraising get-together at 3pm Saturday just before the game along the right field patio.
There is nothing better to fight adversity than community! I’ll be there!
Thanks to the parents who are setting this up! Coach Allen is a wonderful asset to the Illini community.
See you at the ballpark!