High-Powered Offense Not Enough as Illini Sweep Lions (Series Recap)

Recaps

FRIDAY: Illinois 14, Penn State 10

• Down 6-2 heading into the top of the 6th, the Nittany Lions scored 6 unanswered runs. It wasn't enough as the bullpen let up a game-winning 8-run bottom of the 7th for the Illini.L: Mason Horwat (1.1 IP, 1 SO, 3 ER, 37 pitches)

SATURDAY #1: Illinois 17, Penn State 6 (8 innings)

• The Nittany Lions opened the game with a 6-1 lead. After a suspect coaching decision, the Illini added 16 unanswered runs and 6 home runs in 3 innings to run-rule Penn State.L: Will Perkowski (1.1 IP, 0 SO, 8 ER, 44 pitches)

SATURDAY #2: Illinois 12, Penn State 8

• Frankie Sanchez left the game after 3 innings despite striking out 3 batters and allowing 0 runs. The turning point was a 9-run 7th without any home runs, which was too much of a hole for the Nittany Lions to come back from.L: Chic DeGaetano (1.0 IP, 0 SO, 1 ER, 17 pitches)

Player of the Weekend (Offense): RF Adam Cecere [6-for-12, 2 HR, 5 RBI]

• Between him and JT Marr, it was a tough decision to make as they had nearly identical statistics. Cecere was picked for bouncing back and finally using his power bat again, hitting 2 over the fences against the Illini.

Pitcher of the Weekend (Defense): RHP Jaden Henline [5 IP, 3 SO, 1 ER]

• Before being subbed out in the 6th inning of the first game on Saturday, Henline tossed the best performance of any Nittany Lion starter this weekend. Having gone a few more innings, the game might've looked wildly different.

Next Weekend

Penn State heads back home to face Northwestern. Friday's game will start at 5:30 PM, Saturday's game will start at 2:00 PM, and Sunday's game will start at 1:00 PM. Listen live to all games this season on LionVision, and track live stats all year on StatBroadcast.