It’s been nearly four months since Illinois fans watched their baseball team live, but the 2024 Big Ten champions are back in action this weekend. The path to defending their conference title in the spring starts with two exhibitions.
Their first matchup is Thursday at 6 p.m. The Great Lakes Canadians visit Illinois Field, led by former Illini catcher Chris Robinson. He was a two-time Big Ten Conference All-Star catcher at Illinois before getting selected 90th in the 2005 MLB draft.
Robinson returned to Canada after his professional career and assumed his current role with the Great Lakes organization. They are an “elite level amateur baseball organization” and will test the Illini first this fall.
A more familiar opponent will take the opposing dugout on Saturday. The Indiana State Sycamores arrive for a noon first pitch. Illinois split the season series 2-2 with Indiana State last spring, but the final loss knocked Illinois out of the NCAA Tournament.
The Saturday fall exhibition won’t exactly be a “revenge” game, but these programs have grown accustomed to playing each other. If nothing else, it will be a great test to see where a new group of Illini stand.
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Illinois lost five of its top nine batters, its top two starting pitchers and its closer from the conference championship campaign. That’s a lot of production to replace, making it important to see who will step up in these games.
Head coach Dan Hartleb is no rookie to a roster rehaul. As Illinois’ winningest all-time coach, Hartleb has 567 wins to his name and has been through thick and thin. Three Big Ten regular season championships and one tournament title didn’t come easy for a man on the Illini staff since 1991.
While there aren’t many, he will rely on his returners to lead the program. Redshirt senior catcher Jacob Schroeder is one. The 2024 All-Big Ten First Team selection raked a .306 AVG with a .613 SLG while calling pitches behind the dish. Duplicating his offensive production while managing an inexperienced pitching staff is no easy task, but he’ll get a taste this weekend.
Pitching is a much bigger question mark for Illinois, but one solid returner is redshirt junior Ben Plumley. A multi-inning guy in nearly half his 23 appearances, the right-hander worked a 4.33 ERA. They’ll need to turn somewhere for innings in 2025, and Plumley might be the place to start.
Regardless, the Illini will learn a lot about their roster this weekend as they begin an eight-month journey with a target on their backs.
@benfader7
