| Probable Starting Pitchers |
| Day |
Illinois |
Michigan |
| Thu., 6 p.m. CT |
RHP Cody Sedlock (5-2, 2.63) |
LHP Brett Adcock (6-4, 3.00) |
| Fri., 6 p.m. CT |
LHP Doug Hayes (6-5, 3.12) |
LHP Oliver Jaskie (7-3, 3.36) |
| Sat., 3:30 p.m. CT |
RHP Andrew Mamlic (4-7, 3.95) |
LHP Evan Hill (5-4, 3.88) |
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – Illinois looks to extend its season by clinching a spot in the Big Ten Tournament when Michigan visits Illinois Field for a three-game series Thursday-Saturday. The Fighting Illini are in ninth place of the conference standings, one spot away from qualifying for the eight-team Big Ten Tournament.
Illinois (26-22, 10-11 Big Ten) still controls its own destiny for tournament qualification. If the Illini win three straight against Michigan, they will be in, and there are also a number of different outcomes possible for qualification after winning one or two games this weekend.
Michigan (34-17, 12-8 Big Ten) needs one win to clinch a berth in the conference tournament and could even qualify with three straight losses, depending on other outcomes. The Wolverines are on a five-game losing streak, which included a three-game sweep at Ohio State, after they had won five straight May 3-8.
Illinois enters the series with one of the best pitching rotations in the Big Ten, while Michigan has one of the top lineups. The Illini's Thursday and Friday starting pitchers - Cody Sedlock and Doug Hayes - have combined for 75.2 innings, a 2.02 ERA and 67 strikeouts in their last five starts. Michigan leads the conference in runs per game (7.2) during Big Ten play, but has allowed 5.1 runs per game in conference games, the second-worst mark among teams in the top 10.
Thursday night could be Illini fans' last chance to see Sedlock pitch at Illinois Field. Many publications are predicting him as a first-round pick in next month's MLB Draft. Sedlock has already broken Illinois' single-season strikeout record (109) and is the Big Ten leader in strikeouts. He has 17 more strikeouts than second place Dalton Sawyer of Minnesota (92) and 22 more than Michigan's ace Brett Adcock (87), who will face Sedlock.
Thursday and Friday's games will be streamed live for free on FightingIllini.com. Saturday's game will air on Big Ten Network. All three games can be heard on WDWS AM-1400 with Dave Loane and Jeff Huth on the call.
SERIES HISTORY
• Record: 100-136-2 (.424)
• Last: L, 5-3 (5/23/2015 at Big Ten Tournament)
• First: L, 18-0 (4/20/1892 at Champaign)
• Michigan eliminated Illinois from the 2015 Big Ten Tournament
• Illini are 53-66-2 vs. UM in Champaign
NOW TRENDING - #ILLINI
CODY SEDLOCK - @CodySedlock
• Sedlock set the Illinois single-season strikeout record with 109 last Friday at Indiana, when he went 9.1 innings, allowed one run and struck out 12.
DAN ROWBOTTOM - @DanRow13
• Rowbottom is the 10th toughest player to strikeout in the nation (18.8 AB/SO).
JASON GOLDSTEIN
• Goldstein is hitting .500 (5-10) with runners in scoring position during the last 10 games.
NOTES
• Illinois is 21-4 in its last 25 Big Ten games at Illinois Field dating back to 2014. Penn State won at Illinois Field on March 26 to snap an 18-game Illini winning streak.
• The Illini are 11-4 at Illinois Field in 2016, including a 5-4 mark during Big Ten games at home.
• Illinois has held opponents to .172 (29-169) with runners in scoring position over the last 20 games.
• The Illini are 19-1 when leading after five innings and 23-1 when leading after eight innings.
• Illinois is 4-9 in one-run games but 16-14 in games decided by two or fewer runs.
• The Illini are 12-1 in night games (12 straight wins after dropping the season opener at Tulane).
• The Illini rank 28th in the nation in walks per nine innings (3.00), 33rd in strikeout-to-walk ratio (2.50) and 45th in ERA (3.59).
• Illinois has outscored opponents 28-19 in the first inning and 209-208 overall.
• 48% (196/405) of the Illini's hits have been by players that had not started a game before this year.
• Michael Hurwitz snapped a 26-game reached base streak on Sunday. Hurwitz hit .363 (37-102) with 20 runs, nine doubles a .451 slugging percentage and .431 on-base percentage during the streak.
• For the first time in a month, Illinois did not win the Big Ten Pitcher of the Week award. Cody Sedlock (2) and Doug Hayes (1) combined to win three straight, making Illinois the first team to win three straight Pitcher of the Week honors against three Big Ten opponents since Purdue from March 26-April 9, 2012.
UP NEXT
• Illinois is looking to qualify for the Big Ten Tournament for the ninth time in Dan Hartleb's 11 seasons. The tournament starts May 25 at TD Ameritrade Park in Omaha, Nebraska.
