Wow! This is a brand new ballgame folks!
This past weekend, Illinois baseball won two games against the Michigan State Spartans in their last regular series of the year. A very quick recap…
- Thursday, Branden Comia drove home three runs and Kellen Sarver and Zac Taylor went yard as the Illini won 8-4. (FightingIllini.com recap)
- Friday, the Spartans got revenge winning 5-2. (FightingIllini.com recap)
- In the regular season finale, Illinois took the game 5-3 thanks to Comia’s two solo shots and a two-run homer by Zac Taylor. Cyrillo Watson won his fifth and Garrett Acton earned save #19. (FightingIllini.com recap)
So what does that mean for the Illini? Well, a lot of things…
Illinois gets a bump in the polls
According to D1Baseball.com, Illinois rises three spots in the national rankings from #23 to #20. One spot above Indiana, they are now the top Big Ten team in the country!
Illinois rises in the standings
With their 2-1 performance last weekend, Illinois finishes with a 15-9 conference record. That’s good for a three-way tie for third place in the Big Ten! Behind Indiana (21-5) and Michigan (22-4), Illinois is tied with Nebraska and Minnesota who also have a 15-9 B1G record.
The Illini are a #3 seed in the Big Ten Tournament
The Illinois baseball team are going to the Big Ten Baseball Tournament that begins on Wednesday, May 22 in Omaha, Nebraska. Not only that, they have earned a favorable #3 seed.
Here’s how the seeds worked out based on Big Ten standings…
- #1 Indiana
- #2 Michigan
- #3 Illinois
- #4 Minnesota
- #5 Nebraska
- #6 Maryland
- #7 Ohio State
- #8 Iowa
Illinois kicks off against #6 seed Maryland in the very first game of the tournament on Wednesday morning at 9am. The tourney is in a double elimination format but it’s oh so critical to get that first win.
Stay tuned to 2019 Big Ten Baseball Tournament Central for all the latest information.
Regional hosting is still an option for Illinois
Oh boy! This has me excited! I am never ready for baseball to end at Illinois Field and perhaps it hasn’t! As FightingIllini.com notes…
The Illini have an opportunity to add to its already strong NCAA Tournament resume. Illinois’ RPI is at No. 22 with help from its 11-5 record against the top 50, the No. 5 winning percentage in the nation against the top 50. The Illini are squarely on the bubble to host an NCAA Regional in Champaign as one of the top 16 teams in the nation.
The boys will need a good performance at the B1G Tournament to make this happen.
When do we all find out? Hosts sites will be announced on Sunday night by NCAA. Illinois will find out what is store for them during NCAA’s Selection Show is scheduled for next Monday at 11am CT. Keep an eye on @NCAACWS on Twitter for up-to-date info.
Stat time
Zac Taylor is the first Illini player to have consecutive seasons with 10 or more homeruns and 10 or more stolen bases. Last year, Taylor ended up with exactly ten homeruns and ten steals. This year, Zac currently has ten dingers but has upped his running game with 20 stolen bases. We still have the postseason left, folks.
Not a lot has been made of this but Illinois is third in the nation in Hits Allowed per 9 IP with 7.00 on the dot. Only UCLA and Georgia can better than mark. It’s definitely a team effort. Garrett Acton has only allowed ten hits in 31-plus innings. Starter Andy Fisher (above) has kept opponents to 65 hits in 88 1/3 innings.
Andy will be going against the Terps on Wednesday morning so let’s hope for more of the same!
Go Illini!