Six games into the Big Ten season, Illinois’ pitchers are as good as they said they would be.

They might be even better.

Friday night, Illinois pitched its third shutout in the last four games, allowing just five hits en route to a 1-0 victory over Michigan in the series opener.

The game also marked the first time since 1969 the Illini have pitched one-run shutouts in back to back games.

“Guys are just doing what they do, and it’s just working out,” pitching coach Drew Dickinson said.

Starter Drasen Johnson elevated his pitches in the first inning, which led to two hits off the top of the Michigan lineup.

Even Illinois head coach Dan Hartleb joked he might have been able to hit a couple of Johnson’s first pitches.

But he quickly corrected his game and barely gave the Wolverines another chance, allowing just four hits and striking out three in seven innings.

“I was able to make the adjustment and get myself back down in the zones and get outs,” Johnson said.

Credit should be given to Michigan starter Evan Hill, though, who spent the entire game taking advantage of the Illini’s resolve to steal bases.  

In the third, shortstop Adam Walton singled into center field to extend his hitting streak to 11 straight games, but Hill caught him with too much of a lead and ended the inning. 

Hill picked off Illini base runners twice and tried at least a dozen times through seven innings.  Illinois, which averaged 1.43 stolen bases per game coming into the game, stole none Friday night.

“A guy like that you’ve got to go station to station, which is really not our game,” second basemen Reid Roper said. “We like to steal, so it took away some of our offensive a little bit.”

The Michigan mound didn’t take enough away from Illinois, though, allowing five hits in the fourth inning — eight in the game.

With two outs in the fourth, Hurwitz advanced to second on a balk after the reaching base on a single to right center. Two pitches later, catcher Jason Goldstein moved him to third on a single to first base. 

Roper followed with grounder into right field past the second baseman, and Hurwitz scored the Illini’s first run of the game. 

Goldstein almost doubled Illinois’ advantage when sophomore Pat McInerney singled into center field, but he couldn’t beat the throw out at home, leaving the Illini up one at the end of the fourth.

Sophomore Tyler Jay relieved Johnson after the seventh and struck out two more — including the final batter — to clinch the save. Illinois has now pitched 25 straight scoreless innings in its last three games. 

“That’s impressive on at any level,” Hartleb said.

The win also extends Illinois’ winning streak to six games, which is the same as the number of Big Ten wins they have this season.

“We’re playing loose, our guys continue to improve, they believe in themselves, we’re playing as a unit, there’s a lot of things going well” Hartleb said. “That was a good college baseball game.”

J.J. can be reached at [email protected] and @Wilsonable07.