Illinois preseries article link and weather forecast...

[ptrich]

This is a big series for both teams with IU looking for their first road series win of the season. IU has gone 1-2 in their two previous road series in the B1G (PSU and UCLA.) Illinois has played just one B1G series at home so far and they swept Maryland earlier this month. IU's current RPI is 70, while the Illini have an RPI of 104 and the Illini have a home record of 8-1 so far this season.

Here are their B1G rankings in the three major categories:

Batting - IU is 2nd with a team batting average of .312, while the Illini are 5th with a .296 average.

Pitching - IU is 7th with a team ERA of 5.46, while the Illini are 14th with a team ERA of 6.56.

Fielding - IU is 13th with a fielding average of 96.5, while the Illini are 14th with an average of 96.1. The Illini have 44 errors on the season to IU's 40 errors.


Game 1 (Fri - 7 p.m. ET) -

Pitching: IU is TBD.

Illinois - RHP Tyler Schmitt with an ERA of 5.12 and a WHIP of 1.78 in 38.2 IP. He has 24 Ks to 29 BBs (control problems?), and an OBA of .278.

Weather at game time - 50 degrees with mostly cloudy skies and no precip anticipated. Wind NNE at 9 mph with gusts to 20 mph.


Game 2 (Sat - 4 p.m. ET) -

Pitching: IU is TBD.

Illinois - RHP Ben Plumley with an ERA of 4.99 and a WHIP of 1.46 in 39.2 IP. He has 36 Ks to 16 BBs with an OBA of .258.

Weather at game time - 58 degrees with mostly sunny skies and no precip anticipated. Wind SSW at 7 mph and almost no wind gusts.


Game 3 (Sun - 2 p.m. ET)

Pitching: IU is TBD.

Illinois - LHP Regan Hall with an ERA of 6.91 and a WHIP of 1.46 in 27.1 IP. He has 16 Ks to 6 BBs with an OBA of .304.

Weather at game time - 67 with a mix of clouds and sun and a 22 pct chance of precip. Wind S at 18 mph.


Here's the link to the preseries article.

Baseball Central: Illinois - Indiana University Athletics

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – After a season-long nine-game homestand, the Indiana Baseball team (19-14, 9-6 B1G) returns to the road for the first time since March 23...

iuhoosiers.com

 

[ptrich]

I thought I would add that D1baseball sees the Neb/Iowa as the big series this weekend in the B1G to keep an eye on. Obviously, the IU/Ill series is big for us and taking the series opener tonight is important, especially being on the road.

Nebraska has been a big disappointment this season so far. They still have one of the best rosters in the B1G so Iowa can't overlook them even with the series in Iowa City. Here is what D1baseball had to say about that series.

2- Does Iowa keep pace with UCLA, Oregon in the Big Ten?

The Hawkeyes have the most wins in the Big 10 with their 12-3 in conference mark and are battling with the 10-2 Bruins and 10-5 Ducks for the top spot. But they still find their RPI down at No. 82, so a series win (and maybe a sweep) will be necessary against Nebraska, a team coming off a big mid-week win over the aforementioned Jayhawks. Staff ace Cade Obermueller continues to be a problem for anybody brave enough to face him, as he sports a 2.51 ERA and a Big Ten-best 65 strikeouts. The Hawkeyes also lead the Big Ten in both pitching (3.70 team ERA) and hitting (.317).