Illinois senior relief pitcher Matt Whitmore earned his first ever Big Ten Pitcher of the Week honor this week.

The Illini closer was rewarded last Monday for his performance on the mound the previous week when Whitmore recorded three saves in wins over Indiana State and Purdue.

“The most important thing to me is I get the honor because I get three saves in a week and three saves is three wins for our team,” Whitmore said. “It’s great to have accolades for pitching well, but it’s better to have the wins.”

Whitmore didn’t allow a hit in three innings pitched and only faced 11 batters. Of the two who reached base off the righthander, one was a lead-off walk and the other reached on a fielding error against Purdue.

It took on only five pitches to record his save against Indiana State on March 28 and he needed just nine to collect his final save of the week in the team’s 3-2 win against Purdue on April 1.

“Last week Matt was sharp,” head coach Dan Hartleb said. “He had two outings where it was just one, two, three and that was it. It’s a comforting feeling to know we have somebody in the bullpen we can go to get us out of jams.”

On the season Whitmore is a perfect six-for-six in save opportunities, and his six saves currently lead the Big Ten. His six saves are only four less than the entire team total of last year’s Big Ten Champion Illini.

With Whitmore’s success out of the bullpen, it is hard to believe this is only his first season as the team’s closer. Whitmore, a transfer from John A. Logan College, came to Illinois last season as a starter and was 4-1 in 13 appearances for the Illini, including 10 starts. He also became the first Illini pitcher to finish the Big Ten Conference undefeated since 1998.

But despite his success as a starter, Whitmore’s role changed from starter to reliever during the off-season due to new additions to the new look Illini.

“We looked around to see who would fit into the closer role and Matt is a person who likes to compete and doesn’t get flustered,” Hartleb said. “We thought maybe a new look and a new mentality in a different role would be good for him, and so far he has done a good job with it.”

Whitmore and the rest of the Illini (13-9, 2-2 Big Ten) will take their show on the road for the first time in the Big Ten this weekend as the team heads to Ohio State (16-6, 3-1 Big Ten). The Buckeyes come into this weekend ranked 24th in the nation and are the only Big Ten team to crack the Top 25 ranking this season.

The Illini swept the Buckeyes in the teams’ Big Ten opening series last season. Illinois and Ohio State will open the series tonight at 6:35 p.m. and will play three more times over the course of the weekend, including a double-header on Saturday.

“Ohio State is a great team,” junior third baseman Mike Rohde said. “But we are going in there expecting to win every game. We feel we can win every game, and when we lost those two games to Purdue we were disappointed beyond belief. We are going in there with high hopes.”