CHAMPAIGN, Ill. -- Fighting Illini baseball (22-22, 11-10) crushed a season-high six home runs en route to a 10-3 victory over Michigan State (28-16, 10-8), completing the series sweep on Sunday at Illinois Field.
It was Michigan State that would get on the board first in this one, pushing a run across in the first to start the game. Illinois immediately responded their first time up, with Drake Westcott and Jacob Schroeder launching back-to-back solo shots to give the Illini a 2-1 lead.
The Orange and Blue added to their lead in the second when Cal Hejza doubled home Camden Janik, who started the inning with a walk. Westcott then continued his torrid stretch at the plate by slugging another two-out solo home run to make it 4-1. Dating back to his final at-bat on Saturday, the Edwardsville, Ill., native had homered in three-straight plate appearances.
Julius Sanchez, bolstered by the run support, settled in on the mound and kept the Spartans off the board. Sanchez put up three-straight scoreless frames, picking up two strikeouts and inducing two double plays. None of the six hits that he allowed in his outing went for extra bases.
Michigan State would score twice in the fifth to cut the lead to one, but TJ Constertina entered the game in relief and stranded a pair of runners to keep Illinois in front. Constertina would work a total of 1.2 scoreless innings, striking out three batters and allowing just one hit.
The Illini grabbed one of those runs back in the sixth when Janik launched a solo home run two batters into the inning to make it a 5-3 ballgame.
Alex Vera and Korey Bunselmeyer each tossed a scoreless frame in relief to keep Illinois in front, combining for two strikeouts and allowing just one hit.
The Illini broke the game wide open in the eighth by scoring five times to put the contest out of reach. Ryan Moerman led off the inning with a home run and Danny Doligale would double home a pair of runs four batters later. Branden Comia then stepped up and slugged a two-run shot to cap the scoring in the inning and making it a 10-3 game.
Jack Crowder worked a quick 1-2-3 ninth to give Illinois its first Big Ten series sweep of the season.
The Fighting Illini will be back in action on Friday when they begin their final Big Ten series of the season at Rutgers. First pitch for the series opener is scheduled for 5:00 p.m. CT.
GAME NOTES
» Drake Westcott went 2-for-5 with two runs, two home runs and two RBI.
» Went 8-for-15 (.533) in the series with eight runs, five home runs and 10 RBI.
» Second-straight multi-HR game...five home runs in last two games...third time this season homering in consecutive games.
» Extended his hitting streak to six games, is batting .464 (13-for-28) with six home runs and 13 RBI during that span.
» Has collected an RBI in four-straight games...11 total over last four games.
» Branden Comia went 2-for-5 with a run, home run and two RBI.
» Played in his 200th-career game in his Illini career.
» Extended his hitting streak to five games...is batting .444 (11-for-25) during that span with three home runs and five RBI during that span.
» Has picked up an RBI in four-straight games.
» Has three-straight two-hit games.
» Camden Janik went 1-for-2 with three runs, a home run, RBI and two walks.
» Has homered in consecutive games for the first time this season.
» Every Illinois starter reached base safely in the win.
» Illinois hitters hit a season-high six home runs in the ballgame.
» Have hit at least five home runs in back-to-back games...have hit at least three home runs in four-straight.
» Have hit a total of 44 home runs during Big Ten play this season, setting a new program record for a 24-game conference slate...previous record was 30...hit a total of 14 home runs in the series.
» Have hit a total of 80 home runs this season, ranks third in the Big Ten...trail single-season program record by 11 (91).
» The Fighting Illini out-hit the Spartans at an 11-8 clip.
» Illinois went 3-for-9 (.333) with runners in scoring position.
» Illinois pitchers limited Michigan State to just 1-for-5 (.200) with runners in scoring position.
» Illinois pitchers faced 37 Michigan State hitters in the game, allowing 15 ground balls and three fly balls while striking out seven.
» The Fighting Illini drew four walks from Michigan State pitching.
It was Michigan State that would get on the board first in this one, pushing a run across in the first to start the game. Illinois immediately responded their first time up, with Drake Westcott and Jacob Schroeder launching back-to-back solo shots to give the Illini a 2-1 lead.
The Orange and Blue added to their lead in the second when Cal Hejza doubled home Camden Janik, who started the inning with a walk. Westcott then continued his torrid stretch at the plate by slugging another two-out solo home run to make it 4-1. Dating back to his final at-bat on Saturday, the Edwardsville, Ill., native had homered in three-straight plate appearances.
Julius Sanchez, bolstered by the run support, settled in on the mound and kept the Spartans off the board. Sanchez put up three-straight scoreless frames, picking up two strikeouts and inducing two double plays. None of the six hits that he allowed in his outing went for extra bases.
Michigan State would score twice in the fifth to cut the lead to one, but TJ Constertina entered the game in relief and stranded a pair of runners to keep Illinois in front. Constertina would work a total of 1.2 scoreless innings, striking out three batters and allowing just one hit.
The Illini grabbed one of those runs back in the sixth when Janik launched a solo home run two batters into the inning to make it a 5-3 ballgame.
Alex Vera and Korey Bunselmeyer each tossed a scoreless frame in relief to keep Illinois in front, combining for two strikeouts and allowing just one hit.
The Illini broke the game wide open in the eighth by scoring five times to put the contest out of reach. Ryan Moerman led off the inning with a home run and Danny Doligale would double home a pair of runs four batters later. Branden Comia then stepped up and slugged a two-run shot to cap the scoring in the inning and making it a 10-3 game.
Jack Crowder worked a quick 1-2-3 ninth to give Illinois its first Big Ten series sweep of the season.
The Fighting Illini will be back in action on Friday when they begin their final Big Ten series of the season at Rutgers. First pitch for the series opener is scheduled for 5:00 p.m. CT.
GAME NOTES
» Drake Westcott went 2-for-5 with two runs, two home runs and two RBI.
» Went 8-for-15 (.533) in the series with eight runs, five home runs and 10 RBI.
» Second-straight multi-HR game...five home runs in last two games...third time this season homering in consecutive games.
» Extended his hitting streak to six games, is batting .464 (13-for-28) with six home runs and 13 RBI during that span.
» Has collected an RBI in four-straight games...11 total over last four games.
» Branden Comia went 2-for-5 with a run, home run and two RBI.
» Played in his 200th-career game in his Illini career.
» Extended his hitting streak to five games...is batting .444 (11-for-25) during that span with three home runs and five RBI during that span.
» Has picked up an RBI in four-straight games.
» Has three-straight two-hit games.
» Camden Janik went 1-for-2 with three runs, a home run, RBI and two walks.
» Has homered in consecutive games for the first time this season.
» Every Illinois starter reached base safely in the win.
» Illinois hitters hit a season-high six home runs in the ballgame.
» Have hit at least five home runs in back-to-back games...have hit at least three home runs in four-straight.
» Have hit a total of 44 home runs during Big Ten play this season, setting a new program record for a 24-game conference slate...previous record was 30...hit a total of 14 home runs in the series.
» Have hit a total of 80 home runs this season, ranks third in the Big Ten...trail single-season program record by 11 (91).
» The Fighting Illini out-hit the Spartans at an 11-8 clip.
» Illinois went 3-for-9 (.333) with runners in scoring position.
» Illinois pitchers limited Michigan State to just 1-for-5 (.200) with runners in scoring position.
» Illinois pitchers faced 37 Michigan State hitters in the game, allowing 15 ground balls and three fly balls while striking out seven.
» The Fighting Illini drew four walks from Michigan State pitching.
