Northwestern Baseball travels downstate to face Big Ten rival Illinois
The Northwestern Wildcats hit the road to face an in-state rival, the Illinois Fighting Illini, for a 3-game weekend series in Champaign, Illinois. Northwestern took 2 out of 3 last year against Illinois, averaging 12 runs per game in the process.
The Opponent
Illinois comes into the matchup sporting a 16-14 overall record while having a 7-2 record in conference play, good for second place in the Big Ten behind Rutgers (27-6, 8-1). The fighting Illini are 9-4 over their last 13 games and are currently riding a 3-game winning streak coming into their series against the 'Cats.
The meat and potatoes of Illinois' success are comparable to that of Northwestern's, meaning the team from Urbana-Champaign relies on the heart of their order while being anchored by a successful staff ace and a handful of pitchers around him.
The Fighting Illini are hitting .276 as a team and have scored 204 runs on the year so far compared to Northwestern, who come into the series with a team batting average of .280 while having driven in 197 runs as a team themselves. Illinois' biggest offensive contributors are Cam McDonald and Branden Comia, who come into the series having hit a combined 8 home runs while having driven in 59 runs between the two of them.
On the mound, the Fighting Illini have seen consistent success out of Cole Kirschsieper, who comes into the series sporting a 4-2 record with a 2.85 ERA across 8 games started, while Tommy Green has been their most consistent reliever with a 3.06 ERA across 17 2/3's innings pitched to his name.
'Cats Corner
The 'Cats come into the series sporting a 15-13 overall record with a 4-2 record in conference, tying them for the third best mark in the Big Ten with Maryland (26-7, 4-2).
Northwestern remains red hot as a team, having gone 13-3 over their last 16 contests.
Ethan O'Donnell, Jay Beshears and Anthony Calarco all continue to rake at the plate. Between the three of them, they have combined to hit 18 HRs, 37 doubles, and drive in 76 runs on the year so far. On the mound, Sean Sullivan and Michael Farinelli have entrenched themselves as Northwestern's go-to Friday and Saturday starters, as Sullivan is the overall leader on the team in ERA (2.57), wins (4) and strikeouts (58), while Farinelli is third in ERA (3.33) and second in wins (3) and strikeouts (36) behind Sullivan.
The Schedule
The three-game series will begin Friday evening, with single games scheduled through each day of the weekend:
Game 1: Friday, April 15, 7 p.m. ET / 6 p.m. CT
Game 2: Saturday, April 16, 4 p.m. ET / 3 p.m. CT
Game 3: Sunday, April 17, 2 p.m. ET / 1 p.m. CT
Projected Starting Pitchers
Game 1:
Northwestern – LHP Sean Sullivan: 8 GS, 42 IP, 2.57 ERA, 58 K, 11 BB
Illinois – LHP Cole Kirschsieper: 8 GS, 47.1 IP, 2.85 ERA, 50 K, 15 BB
Game 2:
Northwestern – RHP Michael Farinelli: 7 GS (8 APP), 48.2 IP, 3.33 ERA, 36 K, 14 BB
Illinois – RHP Riley Gowens: 6 GS, 27 IP, 5.00 ERA, 18 K, 10 BB
Game 3:
Northwestern – RHP Grant Comstock: 2 GS (5 APP), 15.2 IP, 4.60 ERA, 15 K, 13 BB
Illinois – LHP Payton Hutchings: 1 GS, 6 IP, 1.50 ERA, 3 K, 1 BB
How to Watch
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Eli Ong is a contributor to Wildcats Daily of Sports Illustrated's FanNation Network. Eli specializes in video and written content and will look to focus on baseball-related coverages when able.