Illinois will face the Michigan Wolverines in its elimination game at 7 p.m. in Omaha. The matchup was determined after Illinois lost to Indiana in the first round of the Big Ten tournament.

Michigan lost to Iowa in its first round matchup, and thus, Illinois will have a rematch with the team that knocked it out last year.

Illinois lost to Michigan in a late night affair last year in the conference tournament, and then proceeded to fall to Indiana in the elimination game following.

The Illini have been inconsistent during their Big Ten play, going 12-13 against their conference opponents. They will need to fix that if they want their season to continue beyond the Wolverines.

The Illini have plenty of hope and energy to build off, having won their last regular season series. While the Illini did lose to the Hoosiers, they kept it close.

With a 4-3 final score, the Illini pitching kept their offense in the game. The offense would not find an answer despite the efforts of graduate third baseman Branden Comia, who originally gave the Illini a 1-0 lead in the fifth.

Indiana took over from that point on, scoring four unanswered runs, two came in the fifth and two in the ninth. The Illini loaded the bases in the top half of the ninth inning, and put together a slight comeback, scoring two runs via error, but fell short.

The Wolverines were crushed by the Hawkeyes in their respective game, which brings some momentum for the Illini, who will gladly take that. The season was defined by inconsistencies as the Illini finished at .500 in both overall record and conference record.

The first pitch is scheduled to be around 7 p.m. in Omaha. The winner will stay alive in the tournament, and move on to face the loser of the Iowa/Indiana game that takes place on Thursday.

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