After a low-scoring loss to Indiana State (10-13), Illinois (12-10, 4-5) bounced back in a big way. It took down Rutgers (13-10, 3-3) at home in two of three games over the weekend, securing its second-straight series win.
It also brings the Illini’s home record to 6-3 overall and 4-2 in Big Ten games. Illinois has been confident at home this season, putting up double-digit runs in four of its home games.
The victories brought the Illini up to the middle of the pack in Big Ten standings. They’ve steadied themselves after a winless weekend to open conference play against the USC Trojans.
Putty power, Groves in a groove
Two of the top performers against Rutgers were freshman first baseman AJ Putty and senior outfielder Nick Groves. Groves went 7 for 14 on the weekend with three RBIs and a home run. Putty continued his clutch hitting streak, knocking in five runs in game one.
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Both were big parts of the Illini’s offense explosion in the first two games. They put up 13 runs on Friday, tallying 16 hits. Illinois got off to a hot start, putting up nine runs in the first inning.
Four Illini had multi-hit games. Putty was one of those, recording at least four hits for the third time this season. Groves was another, tallying his eighth multi-hit game and fourth game with three or more hits.
Saturday’s game wasn’t much different. Illinois put up 12 runs and tallied 15 hits. Once again, Groves and Putty had multi-hit outings.
While the bats were hot, the pitching was not. The Illini gave up a lot of runs and pitchers who normally limit the scoring couldn’t stop the steady flow of Scarlet Knights’ scoring. They put up seven and six runs on Friday and Saturday, respectively, then eight in Sunday’s victory.
Sunday scaries
Sunday was another story for Illinois’ offense. Despite taking an early 3-0 lead, Rutgers came roaring back, scoring eight unanswered runs to take the series finale and avoid the sweep. Illinois’ offense mustered just six hits.
While the offense was quiet at the plate, the Scarlet Knights lit up the Illini bullpen. After freshman left-hander Aidan Flinn went five scoreless innings while giving up just two hits, the bullpen squandered the 3-0 lead.
Junior righty Olivier Martel came in for the sixth and got out of it with just one earned run. The seventh inning was where things unraveled for the Illini.
Freshman righty Ike Young started the inning and got one out before loading the bases with two walks and a single. Senior southpaw Reed Gannon came in for Young, but quickly gave up a walk and three hits, giving Rutgers a 6-3 lead. Young was tagged with three earned runs, and Gannon with two.
In the ninth, sophomore right-hander Luke Weber came in for one-third of an inning and gave up two more runs to solidify Rutgers’ victory.
It’s an unusual sight to see the Illini bullpen give away so many runs, as they’ve been solid this season. However, an off day is always possible, and with the series victory already secured, the poor outings aren’t as detrimental.
Long, winding road trip
Despite Sunday’s loss, Illinois is on a hot streak, winning five of its last eight. However, all five wins came at home. Illinois won’t be back home for two weeks, taking on Penn State (6-15, 2-4) and Purdue (15-7, 5-4) in weekend series as well as Missouri (16-8) and Illinois State (17-7) in midweek games.
It won’t be an easy trip for the Illini, who have a 2-6 record on the road. However, Penn State is a bottom-half team in the conference standings and doesn’t have a very high-powered offense.
Another saving grace is 12 straight home games — spanning nearly all of April — after the lengthy road trip. For now, the Illini will have to adapt to playing away from home.
@ben_some16
