Illinois baseball (17-13) took down Illinois State (17-12) in a 10-6 victory on Tuesday, including a seven-run third inning from the home team. Winning ten of its last 12 games, Illinois has scored double-digit runs eight times in this stretch.
Illinois State traveled down to Champaign for the only meeting between the in-state rivals this season after last week’s game in Bloomington was canceled. Last year, the programs split their two matchups, with each team taking a win on the road. The Illini defended their home turf as Illinois Field was blessed with some perfect baseball weather with partly cloudy skies and temperatures in the mid-60s.
Three-hit performances came from junior left fielder Vytas Valincius, junior designated hitter Camden Janik and redshirt junior first baseman Drake Westcott. Valincius produced a season-high four RBI, helped by a three-run bomb, and junior third baseman Coltin Quagliano recorded two hits, including a solo home run. The win was earned by senior right-handed pitcher Will Lavin, who delivered 1.1 shutout innings and allowed just one hit.
Head coach Dan Hartleb gave the ball to sophomore lefty pitcher Sam Reed to start the game, who worked 4.2 innings on the mound allowing three runs off of three hits. The Illini got on the board in their first at-bat with a two-out base hit from Valincius that drove in senior shortstop Cal Hejza.
Illinois State grabbed two runs in the top of the third to take a 2-1 lead before the Illini determined the game with seven runs in the bottom of the frame. An RBI base hit from Westcott evened up the ball game, and Valincius came up to bat next and cleared the basepaths with his three-run nuke. The Illini kept pounding and scored off of an error before freshman center fielder Cameron Chee-Aloy brought in two more runs with a base hit to give Illinois an 8-2 lead.
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The Redbirds added another run in the fifth inning and held the Illini scoreless for three frames. The Illini found their groove again in the seventh inning as Quagliano sent one out, and Janik doubled down the left field line to drive a run in. Illinois State made a final rally in the ninth inning to score three runs, but Illinois stopped the bleeding and took a 10-6 victory.
Coming up, the Illini will take a break from the Big Ten play as they host Northern Illinois for a three-game series this weekend.
