Kentucky will face Illinois in winners bracket of Lexington Regional

Illinois' Jack Crowder (39) delivers a pitch during a NCAA Big Ten Conference baseball game against Iowa, Saturday, April 9, 2022, at Duane Banks Field in Iowa City, Iowa. (© Joseph Cress/Iowa City Press-Citizen / USA TODAY NETWORK)

Nick Mingione’s Kentucky baseball program advanced in the 2023 Lexington Regional by beating the MAC champs before facing a Big Ten program. The Bat Cats would lose game two to Indiana, but won three games in a row to advance to super regionals.

That same potential path is on the table again.

On Friday evening at Kentucky Proud Park, No. 3 seed Illinois advanced to the winner’s backer after defeating No. 2 seed Indiana State 4-1. The Illini picked up their first NCAA Tournament win since 2015. The Big Ten regular season champs advanced without needing much work from the bullpen.

THAT'S AN ILLINOIS VICTORY!!!@Jcrowdz7 dominates on the mound as the #Illini begin their NCAA Tournament run with a win!#HTTO pic.twitter.com/CS3bNBjaSY
— Illinois Baseball (@IlliniBaseball) June 1, 2024

Head coach Dan Hartleb got eight innings from starting pitcher Jack Crowder as the No. 2 Sycamores generated only three hits. Crowder struck out five batters with zero walks on 106 pitches. The innings eater helped save the bullpen for a pitching staff that entered the postseason ranked No. 133 overall in ERA (5.89).

Illinois (35-19) has now beaten Indiana State twice this season after notching their fifth Quad 1 game this season.

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Action on Saturday at Kentucky Proud Park will begin at Noon ET when No. 2 Indiana State faces No. 4 Western Michigan. First pitch for Kentucky vs. Illinois is scheduled for 6:00 p.m. ET at Kentucky Proud Park. The Wildcats will look to win game two in the Lexington Regional this time around.