For the first time in over a month, the Illini baseball team will play a non-conference game on the road when they take on Southern Illinois this afternoon at 3:05 in Carbondale.

Illinois is coming off a split at Penn State over the weekend in which the Illini gained sole possession of first place in the Big Ten. The Illini are now 26-14-1 on the season – 14-6 in the Big Ten – a full two games ahead of second-place Minnesota.

The Salukis have won eight of their last 10 games and are 28-16, 11-7 in the Missouri Valley Conference. Southern Illinois is the third MVC team Illinois has faced this season. The Illini split the first two games, beating Indiana State 8-4 and losing to Illinois State 4-3.

Southern Illinois is also the alma mater of Illini head coach Itch Jones. Jones coached the Salukis for 21 seasons from 1970 to 1990, winning eight conference titles and going to the College World Series three times. Since coming to Illinois in 1991, Jones is 9-7 against his former school.

Illinois has been led throughout the season by good starting pitching but has struggled to find a solid starter for mid-week games. In Illinois’ last three mid-week games, Jones has used relievers out of his bullpen, saving his top starters for conference games.

The Illini have also had good hitting all season long, but somewhat cooled off over the weekend against Penn State, hitting only .220 as a team. They are still led in hitting by sophomore designated hitter Mike Rohde. Rohde’s .349 batting average is six points higher than senior infielders J.R. Kyes and Dusty Bensko, who are both hitting .343.

Jones hopes his starters can get back on track tomorrow before hosting Northwestern this weekend. Having a consistent lineup thus far this season has eased Jones’ workload.

“This has been one of the few times in the past few years I’ve had here where the lineup is basically set day-to-day,” Jones said.

Southern Illinois is led by senior pitcher/infielder P.J. Finigan. Finigan leads the team in hitting with a .387 average and has four home runs and 34 RBIs. Finigan has been equally effective as a pitcher, totaling a 6-2 record with a 3.46 ERA in 12 appearances – all starts.

Still weeks away from a possible Big Ten title, the Illini know their season isn’t in the bag yet, and to win the title they must continue to play well, even in mid-week non-conference games.

“We just have to keep doing what we’re doing,” said senior third baseman Chad Frk.