CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — Illinois baseball (22-13, 9-2) clinched a sixth-straight series win by defeating Northwestern (12-22, 2-9), 7-1, today at Illinois Field.
Connor Milton had a perfect game at the plate, going 4-for-4 with three runs scored, a double, two home runs and four RBI. Milton set career-high marks in hits, runs, home runs, RBI and total bases in the contest. Cal Hejza, Camden Janik, Drake Westcott and Coltin Quagliano all had two hits in the ballgame.
Cooper Omans improved to 4-1 on the season by twirling his second quality start of the season. The southpaw worked a season-high 7.0 innings, giving up one run on two hits, allowing three walks and striking out four. Jake Rons and Julius Sanchez each pitched 1.0 innings in relief, combining to allow just one hit and whiffing two batters.
HOW IT HAPPENED
The Illini used a two-out rally in the second to get on the board first. Brody Harding singled to extend the frame and would score all the way from first on Quagliano’s RBI-double. Milton kept the line moving with an infield-single and Hejza would score Quagliano on an RBI-single.
The 2-0 lead was more than enough for Omans, who kept the Wildcats scoreless through seven. The Oviedo, Fla., native, faced just one batter over the minimum through the fifth and did not allow a runner to reach third base during his outing. Omans worked efficiently, needing just 76 pitches to record 21 outs.
Illinois would double their lead in the fourth…
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