The latest crop of teams to join the Big Ten has proven very adept at baseball. All four new conference members are within the upper echelon of the standings.
The Illini (21-13, 9-6) will get their first extended look at one of their newest foes this weekend. Illinois takes the 2,000-mile trip to Seattle to take on the Washington Huskies (19-19, 9-6).
Power outage possible
Both teams enter this series with red-hot offenses. The Illini are coming off back-to-back run-rule victories, while the Huskies won their midweek game 22-0 over Seattle.
Illinois demolished Indiana Sunday without hitting a single home run and clobbered SIUE Tuesday while hitting five.
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The Illini’s ability to win big both with and without the longball will be important this weekend. The Huskies’ pitching staff is one of the best in the conference at limiting home runs, serving up the fifth-fewest (31) in the Big Ten.
A pair of senior righties — Jackson Thomas and Max Banks — are a big reason behind Washington’s homer aversion this year. Each has served up three home runs this season, with Thomas covering 41.1 innings and Banks logging 38.1.
The best HR/9 this weekend, however, belongs to an Illini hurler. Junior right-hander Tyler Schmitt has allowed fewer homers (2) than Thomas and Banks while covering more innings (45.2).
High-quality pitching
Illinois’ pitching seems to be turning a corner as of late, especially its starters. The team has lowered its ERA from 6.75 to 6.46 over the past two weeks.
Starters have hurled four quality starts in the past six non-bullpen games. Schmitt kept Indiana at bay with seven innings of one-run ball last weekend. Redshirt junior right-hander Ben Plumley quieted Maryland bats a week prior. But sophomore lefty Regan Hall has been the team’s best pitcher as of late.
Hall has notched back-to-back quality starts with gems against Maryland and Indiana. The southpaw has surrendered only a single run over his last 13.1 innings.
The Huskies, with a team OPS below .800, don’t boast a particularly scary offense. They are fresh off a 22-run victory but still find themselves bottom five in the conference in batting average, on-base percentage and slugging percentage.
Last time out
The Illini tangled with the Huskies earlier this season during the Las Vegas College Baseball Classic. Washington was all over Plumley, tagging the righty for eight runs.
Washington led 9-3 in the fifth inning before Illinois stormed back for a 10-9 victory.
If the Illini pitchers can keep up their hot streak, the team should have a much easier time taming the Huskies.
@BrendanGallian
