Illinois baseball (14-12, 5-1) is back on the road this weekend with another Big Ten foe on the horizon. The Minnesota Golden Gophers (11-12, 1-2) have struggled thus far in their season, and they’ll be facing an Illini program that has won eight of the last 10 matchups between the two rivals.
Two games against Illinois State were canceled earlier this week due to inclement weather; Friday will mark Illinois’ first game since Saturday. The Illini swept the Penn State Nittany Lions last weekend in their first home Big Ten series of the 2024 season, thanks to offensive outbursts in all three games.
Across the three games, Illinois hit .377 as a team with plenty of extra-base hits and increased its double-digit run-scoring streak to five games. The Illini trailed in all three games, but the bats continued to find answers off the Nittany Lions staff, something they’ll aim to continue against a Golden Gophers pitching staff that has struggled with run prevention, allowing an earned run average of 5.13.
Senior redshirt catcher Jacob Schroeder was named Big Ten Player of the Week, leading the Illini to a 4-0 record last week. Schroeder also posted an on-base plus slugging percentage of 1.934, with three home runs and driving in nine runs, extending his hitting streak to eight games.
The Illini have won five consecutive games, while the Gophers have dropped their last two. Illinois swept Minnesota in the most recent series between the two, with the series sweep clinched on a walk-off home run by Schroeder.
Get The Daily Illini in your inbox!
The probable pitchers for Friday’s series opener are Illinois senior right-handed Jack Crowder (1-1, 5.65 ERA) and junior left-hander Tucker Novotny (0-3, 5.76 ERA) for Minnesota. Of the probable starters for each team, only one has an ERA below 4.00, and both offenses could find themselves in prime position to run up the score.
The Illini are hitting .267 as a team, and so are the Gophers. However, the Illini hold a slight advantage in the OPS department, with a .834 to the Gophers’ .821.
However, Minnesota’s pitching staff has been better overall with run prevention, allowing an ERA of 5.13 to Illinois’ 6.57. For head coach Dan Hartleb, pitching will need work if the Illini hope to continue their season-best win streak.
Game one is set for Friday at 4 p.m.. The final two games of the series will be played on Saturday, with first pitch at 12 p.m. for the doubleheader opener.
@arrosen76
