This weekend, Illinois faces their first Big Ten weekend opponent. They travel to East Lansing as Michigan State hosts the Illini for three games over the weekend.
Note that due to forecasted nippy temps on Sunday, that game will be played as part of a doubleheader on Friday. Saturday’s game will be played as scheduled.
Illinois baseball hopes their burgeoning offense will lead them to victory. In four of the past five games, the Illini bats have hit safely at least twelve times. In those five games, they have scored 48 runs.
The leader among the Illini offense? None other than Cam McDonald.
You will have to go back to game #2 back in February to find a Cam McDonald oh-fer. Since then, he’s hit safely in sixteen straight games.
The stat line on formidable McD… .348, 4 HR, 21 rbis, all tops on the team.
On the mound
The coaches have tabbed two of most consistent starters for this weekend. Between the two of them, Cole Kirschsieper and Jack Crowder account for half of Illinois wins so far this season.
Kirschsieper brings a 3.26 ERA and Crowder’s is not much higher at 3.60. Both have impressive K/IP ratios as well.
| Michigan State Spartans | |
| McLane Baseball Stadium | East Lansing, Michigan |
| Friday, March 25 | 12pm CT (doubleheader) Saturday, March 26 | 12pm CT |  |
| WDWS AM-1400 | BTN+ | Live Stats |
Random Ramblings
This past Tuesday’s game against Bradley was canceled due to inclement weather. The staff quickly turned around another game for Wednesday against D3 Wheaton. As expected, Illinois had their way with them (though Wheaton scored first). Jacob Campbell broke the ice with a three-run homer.
Illinois won 13-5 and local boy Crayton Burnett earned his first win as an Illini.
Go get ’em, Illini! Oh and study hard too!