Illinois baseball (16-13, 7-2) secured its third Big Ten series victory this weekend after winning two out of three games at Minnesota (12-14, 2-4). The Illini won 11-2 in the series opener on Friday and 7-4 in the first game of Saturday’s doubleheader before their seven-game win streak was broken in an 8-3 defeat. Illinois buffed their record against Big Ten opponents to 7-2 and rallied on the road to improve to 4-8 in away games.
The Illini started hot in Friday’s series opener, putting up three runs in their first turn at bat on two singles. An RBI double in the second inning from junior third baseman Coltin Quagliano gave Illinois a 4-0 lead before the Gophers responded with a solo home run in the bottom of the frame. Graduate second baseman Brody Harding sealed the game with a grand slam in the third inning, and the Illini held a 9-1 lead after the fourth.
Fourth-year lefty Payton Hutchings relieved senior right-handed pitcher Jack Crowder with the bases loaded in the fifth. Despite the high pressure, he allowed just one inherited run. Hutchings earned the win with 3.2 scoreless innings and two strikeouts, while sophomore right-handed pitcher Julius Sanchez closed the game in his season debut with a three-up three-down ninth inning after Illinois put two more runs on the board. It was a complete team win as every starting batter in the Illinois lineup recorded a hit and six players had a multi-hit day.
Illinois split the doubleheader on Saturday but clinched the series after the first match and extended a season-high seven-game win streak. The Illini were led in the first game by senior shortstop Cal Hejza who went 3-for-4 to extend his hitting streak to 12 games.
The teams traded runs in the third and fourth innings of the Illinois win before Hejza and freshman centerfielder Cameron Chee-Aloy drove runners in to give Illinois a 4-1 lead in the fifth. The Gophers battled back to tie the game at four apiece, but eighth-inning base hits from Harding and Quagliano put the Illini up 7-4. Graduate right-handed pitcher Joe Glassey secured the win and earned the save with 2.0 scoreless innings and two strikeouts.
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In Saturday’s second game, the Gophers served up the Illini’s first loss in two weeks. The Illini fell into a 4-0 hole and could not climb out, sitting in an 8-0 deficit going into the eighth inning. They managed to squeeze out three runs late in the game but ultimately fell in the series finale.
Working consistently as coach Dan Hartleb’s leadoff hitter, Chee-Aloy paced the Illini, going 3-for-5 in the game to extend his hitting streak to 11 games and notch his third game with three hits in that span. Coming out of the bullpen, freshman left-handed pitcher Regan Hall shined, tossing 3.2 innings and allowing one run on three hits with three strikeouts.
The Illini return to Illinois Field on Tuesday at 6 p.m. to host Illinois State (17-11) after last week’s game in Bloomington was canceled. Entering Champaign with steam, the Redbirds are coming off a series sweep of Valparaiso and allowed just two runs across that three-game set.
