After dropping their first series since March, Illini baseball (26-15) came back to Illinois Field with their eyes set on revenge. No. 24 Indiana State (31-10) knocked off Illinois 7-6 on March 12 this year, but that sparked an offensive explosion from Illinois in the ensuing weeks.
That game was played in Terre Haute, Ind., where the Sycamores are 11-1 on the season. But this time, the Illini hosted, and they’ve been just as dominant at home, with a 15-1 record entering the evening in Champaign. That home record improved for the Illini when they run-ruled the visiting Indiana State Sycamores 21-11.
The Illini offense responded well to a first-inning score from the Sycamores, as senior shortstop Cal Hejza sent the first pitch into the night for a solo homer. Junior catcher Camden Janik crossed the plate on a passed ball later in the inning to give Illinois a 2-1 lead.
Hejza hit another home run in the bottom of the second, a two-out blast, and junior right-fielder Ryan Moerman piled the runs on several batters later. Illinois took an 8-1 lead heading into the third, but the scoring was far from done.
The Sycamores fought back in the third inning with three runs in the top half of the inning, forcing sophomore left-hander Sam Reed to give way to sophomore right-hander Julius Sanchez in relief. Reed recorded four punch-outs across 12 batters, allowing three earned runs.
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Once again, the Illini responded in the bottom half of the inning, with another scoring outburst and another six runs on the board to take a 14-4 lead heading into the middle innings. But, similarly to the last few innings, the offenses reigned supreme. The Sycamores added six of their own runs in the fourth inning, cutting the Illini lead to 14-10.
Illinois went scoreless in the fourth inning, then held Indiana State to the same result in the fifth. But the bats woke up again and added another four runs to go up 18-10. Indiana State added a run in the sixth, but that was all it could muster. The Illini bats raked in another two runs in the sixth inning.
Senior outfielder Connor Milton walked it off for the Illini in the seventh inning via a solo shot. The Illini won 21-11 via the mercy rule as they head into the final stretch of the season.
Next game, Illinois will host the Ohio State Buckeyes. This is the beginning of Illinois’ nine-game stretch to close out the regular season, in which it will face Big Ten opponents only.
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