Boiler Baseball heads to Champaign to face the Fighting Illini

Purdue (11-19 overall, 4-5 Big Ten) heads to Illinois (19-10, 2-4) this weekend, which will be a battle of 2 teams looking to get over the .500 mark in the Big Ten.

The Boilermakers lost 2 of 3 against Northwestern last weekend at Alexander Field, while Illinois was able to win 1 game against Big Ten leader Indiana and break the Hoosiers 18-game win streak.

The Boilers are currently tied with Northwestern for 6^th in the Big Ten, while Illinois is right behind them at number 7. Remember, only the top 6 teams can head to Target Field for the Big Ten Tournament.

The Fighting Illini have faced the top two teams (Indiana, Nebraska) in the conference so far, managing 2 wins in those 6 games. That being said, here are the current Big Ten standings heading into this weekend:

Big Ten		Overall
Team	Record	Pct.	Record	Pct.
Indiana	8-1	.889	26-4	.867
Nebraska	7-2	.778	13-17	.433
Minnesota	4-2	.667	19-13	.594
Michigan	4-2	.667	17-14	.548
Ohio State	5-4	.556	21-10	.677
Northwestern	4-5	.444	14-10	.583
Purdue	4-5	.444	11-19	.367
Illinois	2-4	.333	19-10	.655
Michigan State	2-4	.333	18-11	.621
Iowa	2-7	.222	11-16	.407
Penn State	0-6	.000	7-21	.250

Illinois will no doubt be a tough team to face, as they have solid hitting and pitching. They have a team batting average of .293, led by senior IF Justin Parr (.435 avg, .613 slg). Three Illini regulars are batting over the .300 mark, and their lineup has produced 16 homeruns in their 29 games.

They also steal a TON of bases, and do a great job of it (65-74 on the season). Look for them to test freshman C Jack Picchiotti’s arm on numerous occasions this weekend.

Illinois also has some solid arms in the bullpen to back up their number one starter Kevin Johnson. Johnson’s numbers on the season include a 4-2 record, 55 2/3 IP, 39 K, and a 1.94 ERA. Six Illini arms have thrown more than 6 innings and have an ERA of 2.08 or less.

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