This year, two Illini were chosen in the 2021 MLB Draft. Both were sophomore pitchers and they were picked in Day 3 of the draft. Who are they? They were the two winningest starters on the 2021 Illini squad, Andrew Hoffmann and Nathan Lavender. Hoffmann was chosen by the Atlanta…
Big Ten announced the 2021 All-Big Ten award recipients this week. Illinois can be proud of their representatives. They are… 1B/DH Justin Janas – All-Big Ten First Team In 2021, Justin Janas hit. And hit and hit. He went 3 for 3 in the third game of the season. Since…
Illinois travels to Iowa City this weekend for a road series against the Iowa Hawkeyes. The Hawks are having a successful season at 21-14 in the Big Ten but the Illini (16-18) are ripe for another big series. In a change from previous conference policies, Big Ten baseball fans will…
For the past three weekends, Illinois baseball has flirted with a .500 record. That includes this past weekend when they reached the 16-16 mark after Andrew Hoffmann pitched a spectacular game against Maryland on Friday. Unfortunately, that would be the last win they would get against the Terps. In a…
Coming off a three-game sweep against Purdue, Illinois will head to Evanston today for their last pod weekend of the 2021 season. In a slight twist to the pod format, they will face host Michigan for all four games. The reason? According to Northwestern’s website, “Northwestern Baseball is pausing…
When Northwestern (7-4) comes to Illinois Field, the Illini (6-6) will celebrate its first home game in 388 days and only its second in 684. I’m sure the Illini will enjoy the friendly home confines after being on the road for the first two weekends. This series will be a…
This weekend was full of highs and lows as Illinois baseball split a four-game pod weekend against #13 Michigan and Michigan State. A big highlight was an opening win against ranked Michigan on Friday afternoon. The split doubleheader on Saturday led to two losses but Illinois regrouped for a closing…
Going into the weekend against the Minnesota Golden Gophers, the Illini were coming off a 1-3 series against the Buckeyes. Coach Hartleb must have said the right things in the clubhouse because the Illini won the first three games before succumbing Sunday’s game. This gives Illinois an even 4-4 record…
Illinois baseball travel north this Friday to face Minnesota Golden Gophers for a four-game set at the US Bank Stadium in Minneapolis. A pessimist would point at the Illini’s 1-3 record. I prefer to look at it like this: Illinois has a chance to start a winning streak. With the…
On Friday, Illinois baseball will take the field competitively for the first time in almost a year. It was after the Elon game on March 8 when everything shut down for the 2020 season. But it’s a new year and a new modified 44-game schedule. Assuming everything goes to plan,…