It’s no secret that college pitching is a collective gascan, but Illinois’ staff has been sub-par this season even by college standards.
Illinois’ 6.75 ERA and 1.66 WHIP both rank in the bottom three among Big Ten teams.
Despite this, the Illini (15-11, 4-5) have rattled off some impressive performances on the mound this past week.
Redshirt junior right-hander Ben Plumley notched a quality start last weekend against Michigan State (17-10, 4-5). Plumley struck out seven Spartans while allowing just one run over his six innings of work.
The bullpen also turned in a stellar showing against Illinois State (12-15) earlier this week. Eight different pitchers combined to silence Redbird bats to the tune of only two runs. The Illini allowed just a single extra-base hit in the 8-2 win.
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“We need to be consistent,” said head coach Dan Hartleb. “We’ve gotten some really good outings out of some pitchers and we need that to continue.”
To sustain this hot streak, Illinois will need to find a way to shut down the highest-scoring team in the Big Ten: the Maryland Terrapins (14-15, 3-6).
Dual-threat offense
It’s not every day that you’re able to bat the conference on-base leader ahead of the conference home run leader, unless you’re Maryland head coach Matt Swope.
Illinois-native senior catcher Alex Calarco leads the Big Ten with 13 homers, while redshirt sophomore utilityman Hollis Porter is just behind with 12. The duo has combined to drive in more than one-third of Maryland’s runs this season.
Maryland’s top two hitters are highly adept at reaching base ahead of the slugging duo of Calarco and Porter.
Sophomore third baseman Brayden Martin leads off and has walked nearly triple the number of times he’s struck out this year. Sophomore shortstop Chris Hacopian and his conference-leading .533 OBP follow Martin in the lineup.
The Terrapins overall lead the conference in both walks (178) and doubles (68), and rank fourth in home runs (44).
This combination of power and patience makes Maryland especially dangerous at the plate. It will be no easy feat for Illini pitchers to navigate the Terrapin lineup.
Illini have reason for hope
Illinois’ pitching has indeed struggled this season, but Maryland has had its own pitching woes.
The Terrapins have a worse WHIP (1.70) than the Illini, and a comparable ERA (6.33).
Meanwhile, Illinois is having no issues at the plate this season. In fact, the team has a higher OPS this year (.913) than it did last year (.911).
Sophomore outfielder Collin Jennings is swinging the hottest bat as of late. Jennings has launched four homers over his last six games. The sophomore leads the team in OPS (1.246), slugging percentage (.800) and is second in home runs (6).
No matter which team takes the series, there should be plenty of runs scored by the two high-powered offenses.
@BrendanGallian