Illinois (11-9, 1-2) will travel to Sauget, Illinois, as they play in a one-game neutral site series against the Missouri Tigers (17-6, 3-3). The Illini are coming off their first weekend of Big Ten play of the season, which did not start off as planned.

The Illini were manhandled by the Nebraska Cornhuskers in Lincoln in the first two games, being outscored by nine runs. The Illini pitching staff was tested again in the third game, but the offense showed up as they avoided that sweep.

The Illini will once again be tested by another elite offensive powerhouse in the Tigers, who have dominated their opponents thus far. The Tigers boast an elite lineup with five players carrying an on-base plus slugging percentage over 1.000 and a team OPS of .906.

The Illini OPS is not nearly as prolific as Missouri’s, as they have a team OPS of .832, with three players having an OPS over .900. The Tigers pitching staff has been just as dominant as their hitting, with a team earned run average of 3.92. Meanwhile, their opponents have given up over seven runs per nine innings. The Illini, on the other hand, have an ERA of 5.67, and opponents have a 6.79 ERA against them.

Head coach Dan Hartleb talked about the mentality the team needs to have going forward against tough opponents.

“I expect our guys to go out and compete,” Hartleb said. “We shouldn’t worry about Missouri; we should play at a level where Missouri has to worry about us.”

Freshman righthander Jake Swartz has been the usual starter for the midweek matchups this season, and there’s no reason to expect otherwise. Swartz has pitched 10 innings this season, with an earned run average of 4.50.

The win on Sunday put Hartleb in a tie for the most wins in program history. A win against the Tigers would make him the all-time winningest coach in Illinois history.

“I’ve been fortunate to be at one place for a long time,” Hartleb said. “It comes down to having great players that can go out and win games. Every game I stand there and watch a bunch of guys play their hearts out.”

The Illini and Tigers have played 40 times in program history, with the win-loss record being almost dead even. The Illini are 20-19-1 against the Tigers, with their most recent matchup being an 11-7 loss in 2022. This is the third consecutive meeting of the teams at GCS Credit Union Ballpark in Sauget.

The first pitch will be at 6:30 p.m. on Tuesday. The game time is listed in CDT.

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