Illinois baseball (11-10, 1-2) hosts the Michigan Wolverines (13-11, 3-0) for their first true home series of the season, as the Illini look to get revenge for their loss in last year’s Big Ten tournament.

Once again, history can be made by Illinois head coach Dan Hartleb. With 518 wins, he stands one win shy of breaking the all-time record for wins in program history.

The Illini have struggled mightily against Michigan in program history, with a record of 108-145-2. The last time the teams matched up was the fateful encounter in Omaha last year.

Several Illini who played in that game are back, looking for revenge. Senior third baseman Branden Comia has an extra motivator, as his 60-game on-base streak was cut short in a 6-5 loss to the Missouri Tigers on Tuesday.

Had he been able to reach base, he would have had the opportunity to break current teammate Cam McDonald’s program record of 63 straight games on base. He’ll have a chance to start a new one, however.

The Illini will also have a chance to get the starting pitching on track, as they’ll take on a Michigan lineup that has struggled mightily in terms of hitting for power and getting on base.

The Wolverines’ lineup has a team on-base plus slugging percentage at just .727. Their batting average sits at just .249 as well, which bodes well for an Illini pitching staff that gives up over five runs a game.

Illinois also possesses a statistically better offense, in terms of OPS and batting average, with a .834 and .267 percentage, respectively. The Michigan pitching staff gives up over five runs a game as well.

For Illinois, it will be the usual pitching lineup. Junior righthander Riley Gowens, freshman righthander Julius Sanchez and junior righthander Jack Wenninger will take the mound for Illinois as the starters.

Michigan will start lefthander Connor O’Halloran on Friday, who has a 4-1 record with a 2.18 earned run average.

The first pitch will be at 6 p.m. on Friday. Games two and three will start at 1 p.m. and 1:30 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday, respectively. All times are listed in CDT.

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