Categories: Chicago

Illinois, UIC make NCAA Baseball Tournament Field

The NCAA baseball tournament is set to start this weekend and Illinois Fighting Illini will get a chance to make history. They will have a chance to earn a spot in the College World Series for the first time in their school history. The Illini had a good season as they had an overall record of 36-19. They had earned a second seed in the NCAA tournament.

They will open their postseason play in Oxford, Mississippi this weekend. The hosts will be Ole Miss who finished with 12th seed nationally. They will host the Oxford Regional. This will also include Clemson and Jacksonville State. The Illini will be starting their tournament against Clemson. Clemson will act as the home side in the match.

Illini had a strong start to the season but lost their way towards the end. They had lost their three games of the last five.  They lost both of their games in the Big Ten Tournament in Omaha, but earned a spot in the NCAA’s on the strength of their non-conference performance this season.

Outfielder Zac Taylor was the star of the team. He had 10 home runs, the highest among his teammates. He also drove in 28 RBI and had .637 on the campaign. He also stole bases 20 times. He had good support in the form of his teammate Cam McDonald. He had 22 RBI and had total 61 hits at .282.

Th regional round is based upon double-elimination. The winner of each regional round will go to the Super Regional Round. There are several other schools from Illinois in the tournament and they ended up in the same original. he University of Illinois at Chicago made the tournament field as a four seed as they won the Horizon League. They will be facing off against Louisville in regional action in Kentucky.

Adyson Sipes

Staff writer for the Chicago Morning Star

Recent Posts

Jigzibik Project Breaks Ground on 45 Affordable Homes

Mayor Brandon Johnson joined city officials, Indigenous leaders, and housing advocates for the groundbreaking of the Jigzibik affordable housing complex…

2 hours ago

Ohtani Returns to Mound as Dodgers Face Twins

Shohei Ohtani is set to continue his measured return to the mound on Monday when the Los Angeles Dodgers open…

21 hours ago

Illinois Students Win Big at 2025 SkillsUSA Nationals

Illinois students demonstrated their excellence in skilled trades and career education at the 2025 SkillsUSA National Leadership and Skills Conference…

1 day ago

CDC Warns of Rising COVID-19 Cases in Select States

Despite overall low national levels, new CDC data indicates that COVID-19 infections are climbing in multiple regions across the United…

2 days ago

Ice cream makers to drop artificial colors by 2028

A sweeping change is coming to America’s frozen dessert aisle. More than 90% of U.S. ice cream manufacturers, representing the…

5 days ago

Chicago Fire Earns First Point in Atlanta Since 2018

Chicago Fire FC and Atlanta United FC battled to a 2-2 draw at Mercedes-Benz Stadium on Wednesday night, marking a…

5 days ago