AP Preview: Illinois at Indiana

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. (Interstat) — Illinois visits Indiana on Thursday in a Big Ten baseball matchup at Bart Kaufman Field, with first pitch scheduled for 64 degrees and rain in the forecast.

The Fighting Illini (26-23) enter the game on a three-game winning streak after a 10-3 victory over Northwestern on Sunday. Indiana (21-30) has lost five of its last six, including an 11-8 defeat at Purdue on Sunday. The series continues Friday and Saturday.

Illinois right-hander Sam Mommer has been a reliable arm out of the bullpen in recent weeks. Over his last five outings, Mommer has allowed one earned run on four hits in 11 1/3 innings with six strikeouts. He earned the win Sunday against Northwestern with five innings of one-hit, shutout ball and two strikeouts. Mommer also tossed two scoreless innings against Nebraska on April 24.

Indiana second baseman Landen Fry leads the Hoosiers at the plate. Fry homered and drove in three runs Sunday at Purdue, going 2 for 4. Over his last 10 games, Fry has collected seven RBIs and shown power potential despite Indiana’s struggles. He recorded multi-hit games in three of four contests from May 8-10.

Illinois’ Collin Jennings homered and drove in three runs Sunday, while Nick Groves went 3 for 4 with an RBI. The Illini have won six of their last eight overall, including a series win over Iowa (May 1-3) and a sweep of Northwestern last weekend.

Indiana’s Owen ten Oever homered and drove in two runs Sunday, and reliever Jacob Vogel threw 2 2/3 scoreless innings with two strikeouts.

A projection system run by Interstat forecasts a 6-2 Illinois victory.

The Illini hold a three-game lead over Indiana in the conference standings. Both teams are looking to build momentum heading into the final weeks of the regular season.