After a three-game sweep of Purdue last weekend, Illinois baseball (13-13, 5-1 Big Ten) will take their show on the road against Iowa. The Illini will travel to Iowa City to face the Hawkeyes for three games including a doubleheader on Saturday (note the schedule change).
Tied with Rutgers for first place in the Big Ten, Illinois is 5-1 in conference play. Four of Illinois’ B1G games have been at home so this weekend’s contests will be the big test. Iowa is 15-10 and 2-1 in the Big Ten so it should be a good match.
On the mound
Due to the Saturday reschedule, the pitching probables are TBA as of this writing. This gives me the opportunity to talk about Cole Kirschsieper who will most likely be starting Game 1 on Saturday.
Kirschsieper earned Big Ten Pitcher of the Week honors for his Friday night performance. He pitched seven scoreless innings while striking out nine Boilermakers. Not only that, Cole nabbed the Scholar Athlete of the Week award.
Cole now owns a 5-1 record with a miniscule 2.49. Nice work, Cole!
| Iowa Hawkeyes | 15-10 (2-1 Big Ten) |
| Duane Banks Field | Iowa City, Iowa |
| Saturday, April 9 | 1pm CT (doubleheader) Sunday, April 10 | 1pm CT |  |
| WDWS AM-1400 | BTN+ | Live Stats |
Random Ramblings
Illinois did lose a midweek game on Tuesday night… I’m not avoiding that. It almost seems fitting that the same Illinois State team that served Purdue their first loss of the year would be the one that pricked Illinois’ balloon after sweeping Purdue.
If you haven’t already seen my photos from each win against Purdue, here is your chance to see them at the IBR photo gallery.
Friday: Illinois 8 Purdue 1
Link to photos from Friday’s game
Saturday: Illinois 11 Purdue 10
Link to photos from Saturday’s game
Powder Blue Sunday: Illinois 11 Purdue 8
Link to photos from Sunday’s game
Good luck, Illini!