Two weeks into the season Illinois is figuring out its bullpen.
When you’re given seven new pitchers and 11 returnees on the staff, it can be a difficult task to maneuver early in the season, but head coach Dan Hartleb seems like he has the hang of it pretty well.
Despite a 9-2 loss to Western Carolina to start the weekend in South Carolina, the Illini’s pitching performance wasn’t that bad. Ty Rybarczyk took over in the fourth inning against the Catamounts, allowing only one run and striking out six batters. What lacked in that game was an offense from the Illini as they went 1-for-17 with runners on and 0-for-7 with runners in scoring position.