After a season of summer league action, Illini athletes are now settling into their fall semester classes (study hard, guys!). The Illinois Baseball team will return for another season of Fall ball very soon.
According to FightingIllini.com, the Illini is scheduled to take on the UI-Springfield Prairie Stars on Friday, September 10 at 4:30pm. The game will be held at Illinois Field and is free and open to the general public.
Also, If you’re down for the football game against UTSA this Saturday, stop on by Illinois Field before the game. Coach Hartleb has extended an invitation to watch the baseball team scrimmage
Gates at Illinois Field will be open at 10:30am on Saturday.
Players to watch
We’ll be seeing some exciting players for the 2022 season. Here are just a couple examples…
Justin Janas comes off a phenomenal summer at the Northwoods League. For the Kenosha Kingfish, Justin hit .402 with an equally stunning .502 OBP.
Both figures led the entire league.
Cole Kirschsieper had an exciting summer. Playing for the Kingsport Axmen in the Appalachian League, he had a 0.00 ERA in 21 innings! That was over four starts and three relief appearances. Opposing batters .104 against Cole as he struck out 33.
Cole was honored with the Appy League Pitcher of the Week in July. In addition, he was selected to pitch for the USA Baseball Collegiate team.
In 15 appearances with the Danville Otterbots, Grant Leader struck out 50 batters in 27 2/3 innings while allowing only three earned runs for a miniscule 0.98 ERA.
It will be a new and improved Illini Baseball team this spring! Looking forward to seeing a sneak preview soon!