| Probable Starting Pitchers |
| Day |
Illinois |
Iowa |
| Fri. 6 p.m. |
RHP Quinn Snarskis (3-0, 3.00) |
LHP Nick Allgeyer (2-2, 2.15) |
| Sat. 3 p.m. |
LHP Andy Fisher (1-0, 3.90) |
RHP Brady Schanuel (4-2, 2.48) |
| Sun. 2 p.m. |
RHP Ty Weber (3-1, 2.68) |
RHP Cole McDonald (1-1, 3.70) |
PREVIEW
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. -- The No. 22/25 Illinois baseball team will host Iowa this weekend for a three-game series. It is the first Big Ten weekend of the season at Illinois Field.
Illinois (16-5, 3-0 Big Ten) has won six straight, including a weekend sweep of Northwestern last weekend in Evanston, and 15 of its last 17 games. The Illini are hitting .292 as a team and slugging .496 during the last 17 games, while outscoring opponents by more than three runs per game.
Bren Spillane is leading the Illini and the Big Ten in nearly every offensive category. He has been one of the hottest hitters in the nation so far in 2018, leading the nation in slugging percentage (1.077) and ranking second in batting average (.474), second in OPS (1.625), fourth in homers (11), fourth in on-base percentage (.548), seventh in doubles (12) and 11th in RBIs (33).
"From a mental standpoint, (Spillane) is a year older and more mature, and I mean that from a baseball standpoint. I can't say enough about the strides he's made there," Hartleb told D1Baseball.com for this week's Golden Spikes Awards spotlight.
Iowa (14-8, 1-1 Big Ten) is coming off a walk-off win Wednesday against Bradley. Tyler Cropley hit a grand slam in the bottom of the ninth to give the Hawkeyes a 13-9 win and momentum heading to Champaign. Iowa split two games with nationally-ranked Indiana last weekend before the series finale was canceled due to weather.
Friday and Saturday are scheduled to be streamed on BTN2Go and Sunday's game will be televised nationally on Big Ten Network. All three games will be available on WDWS radio and the Fighting Illini Sports Network with Dave Loane on the call.
NOTES
• Illinois has won 15 of its last 17 games.
• Illinois is ranked No. 22 in the nation by Baseball America, No. 25 by D1Baseball and No. 12 by Collegiate Baseball Newspaper.
• Illinois was 29th in the RPI to start the week.
• Illinois is outscoring its opponents by 2.67 runs per game (7.05-4.38).
• Illinois' five losses have been by a combined nine runs. No loss has been by more than two runs.
• Illinois was seventh in the nation in fielding percentage (.984) entering the week.
• Illinois enters the weekend with eight fewer errors than any other BIg Ten team.
• Illinois was fifth in the nation in doubles per game (2.52) entering the week.
• Illinois is 12-0 when leading after four innings.
• Illinois is 12-2 when scoring first.
• Illinois is 14-1 when scoring five or more.
• Illinois leads the Big Ten home runs (26). Bren Spillane has as many or more homers than five Big Ten teams.
• Illinois is issuing 3.95 walks per game after allowing 5.33 walks per game in 2017.
• Illinois in the last 17 games: 15-2 record, .292 team batting average, .496 team slugging percentage, 74 extra-base hits (49 doubles, 3 triples, 22 homers), outscored opponents 131-72 (7.71-4.24)
• Two of Illinois' top five players in the lineup have reached base in every game this season: No. 2 hitter Ben Troike and No. 5 hitter Michael Massey. Troike's and Massey's reached base streaks are both 26 games when going back to last season.
• Bren Spillane is one home run away from becoming the fastest Illini to a dozen homers since Josh Klimek in 1996, when he hit 12 homers in the first 21 games of the season. The fastest since then was Pat McInerney in 38 games last season. Klimek ended up hitting a program-record 26 homers in 1996.
• Bren Spillane ranks among the NCAA leaders in nearly every major category: 1st slugging (1.077), 2nd batting average (.474), 2nd OPS (1.625), 4th HRs (11), 4th OBP (.548), 7th doubles (12), 11th RBIs (33), 29th SB (12)
• Bren Spillane's last 8 games: .655 (19-29), 8 HR, 5 2B, 18 RBI, 48 total bases, .730 on-base percentage, 1.655 slugging percentage, Big Ten Player of the Week (March 19), D1Baseball.com Player of the Day (March 21), NCBWA National Player of the Week (March 27)
• In a four-game span March 17-21, Spillane had a three-homer game at SIU (first Illini since Casey Fletcher vs. SIU in 2014) and an eight-RBI game against CSUN (first Illini since Chris Robinson vs. MacMurray in 2004).
• Ryan Thompson entered the week tied for the national lead in wins (5-1) along with 30 others in NCAA baseball.
• Closer Joey Gerber, who has been up to 97 MPH, was 12th in the nation and tied for the Big Ten lead with six saves entering the week.
• The Illini have won four straight Big Ten Player of the Week awards for the second time in program history.
» Spillane (3/26): 9-14, 3 HRs, 10 RBIs in four games, including 2 HRs, 8 RBIs vs. CSUN
» Spillane (3/19): 9-15, 3 HRs, 6 RBIs in four games, including 8-10 doubleheader and three-HR game at SIU
» Turchin (3/12): Reached 12 of 15 times during three games in Greenville, S.C. (5 hits, 7 walks)
» Massey (3/5): DQ Classic/Big Ten-Pac-12 Challenge MVP after hitting .500 in three wins
• Illinois is the second team in Big Ten history to win four straight Big Ten Player of the Week awards. The only other team to accomplish the feat is Illinois' 2015 squad, which won the last four of the season April 27-May 18, 2015 (Casey Fletcher, David Kerian, Jason Goldstein, Kerian).
UP NEXT
Illinois is on the road next week with a Wednesday trip to Illinois State and a weekend visit to Maryland.
