April 28, 2011

Northwestern (13-23, 5-7 Big Ten) vs. Illinois (15-21, 6-6 Big Ten)
Friday, April 29, 2011; 3 p.m.
Saturday, April 30, 2011; 1 p.m.
Sunday, May 1, 2011; 1 p.m.
Rocky Miller Park (1,000)
Evanston, Ill.
Streaming Video: NUsports.com All Access
Audio: sports.wnur.org (all 3 games) and 89.3 FM WNUR (Friday and Sunday only)
Gametracker: NUsports.com
In-game Twitter updates: @NU_SportsLIVE
Northwestern Game Notes (PDF)

Probable Pitching Matchups
Friday
RHP Michael Jahns (1-3, 4.50 ERA, 34 IP, 26 K) vs. RHP Kevin Johnson (4-1, 2.65 ERA, 37.1 IP, 33 K)
Saturday
RHP Luke Farrell (4-1, 3.25 ERA, 52.2 IP, 48 K) vs. RHP John Anderson (4-0, 3.80 ERA, 47.1 IP, 50 K)
Sunday
TBA vs. LHP Corey Kimes (4-1, 2.49 ERA, 47 IP, 35 K)

EVANSTON, Ill. -- With just two games separating first from ninth place in the Big Ten standings midway through the conference season, Northwestern hosts Illinois in a key three-game series this weekend. Friday's series-opener is slated for 3 p.m.

Contests on Saturday and Sunday are both slated for a 1 p.m. first pitch.

At 5-7 in league play, the Wildcats are just one game behind the Illini for fourth place.

NU took the middle of three games of a home series with Purdue last weekend. The Wildcats overcame an early five-run deficit to take the lead in the opener, but eventually fell 9-7. Northwestern bounced back in style to win the second game of a twinbill 14-1 behind the strength of a season-high five home runs as well as eight shutout innings on the mound from sophomore Luke Farrell. The Boilermakers would bounce back to take Sunday's series finale 10-2.

Mother Nature wreaked havoc on the Wildcats' mid-week schedule as they were forced to cancel games against St. Xavier and North Central College on Tuesday and Wednesday, respectively, due to rain.

The Wildcats hit a total of eight home runs in taking two of three games from Illinois last season in Champaign. After winning Friday's opener 11-4, Northwestern dropped Saturday's contest 4-3. However, NU bounced back to take Sunday's finale 7-5.

Scouting Illinois
The Fighting Illini (15-21, 6-6 Big Ten) won two of three games at home against Michigan State last weekend before defeating Illinois-Springfield 10-4 on Tuesday. Davis Hendrickson has a team-best .331 batting average while Brandon Hohl is hitting .323 with a team-high 30 RBI. John Anderson leads Illinois with four wins (4-5) and has a 3.99 ERA. Reliever Wes Braun hasn't allowed an earned run in 13 appearances. Dan Hartleb (166-148) is in his sixth season as head coach of the Illini.

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