Illinois baseball pitcher has legendary outing in journey to the College World Series

Illinois baseball started their voyage to the College World Series in incredible fashion on Friday night.

The Illini clinched a No. 3 seed in the Lexington Regional, marking the first Regional the program has made since 2019. The first game in the double-elimination Regional was against No. 2 Indiana State.

This was a great game throughout. Offensively, the Illini were able to make solid contact for the entirety, but it took until the third for the ball to start finding gaps. A two-run third inning opened things up, and it was enough run support for Illinois starter Jack Crowder.

Coming into the first game of the Regional, Crowder was sporting a 5.25 ERA for the season. He was going up against an Indiana State team that finished the season 42-14 and averaged 7.8 runs per game. The Sycamores also scored 11 runs against the Illini earlier this season.

None of that mattered to Crowder. He went out on the mound and pitched a masterpiece for the Orange and Blue. He went eight innings of three-hit baseball and only gave up one run. That lone run by Indiana State was a solo home run that snuck inside the left field foul pole.

Crowder’s eight innings pitched and zero walks were season-bests for him. He also tied his season-low with one earned run. Crowder has only allowed fewer than the three hits he gave up against Indiana State twice in the 16 starts this season as well.

This was a legendary performance. Crowder pitched a gem, and Illinois gave him some run support in the 4-1 win over Indiana State. This was also the first Regional win for the Illini since 2015.

A tough road ahead for the Illinois baseball team in the Lexington Regional

Beating No. 2 seed Indiana State was huge for the Illini on Friday night. The prize for this great win? A matchup against host Kentucky on Saturday at 5:00 p.m. CT/6:00 p.m. ET on ESPN+.

The Wildcats had a great 2024 campaign, going 41-14 overall which includes a 21-6 home record. They started their Regional with a 10-8 win over Western Michigan. There is plenty of firepower inside the Kentucky program, so Illinois’ pitching needs to continue to be on point.

A win is a great way to start the trek to the College World Series. Let’s see if Illinois can shock the world and knock off the host on Saturday night.