The Illini rallied for 5 runs in the second inning against the Bobcats, and never looked back. The victory in the Illini's first-ever home NCAA regional sets up a game 4 matchup with Notre Dame. That game was postponed by rain Saturday, and will be played at 3 p.m. Sunday.
The Illinois baseball team is a national seed for the first time, meaning they'll host a Super Regional June 5-8 if they can win the first NCAA Regional this weekend at Illinois Field. Ohio, Notre Dame, and Wright State will also play at Illinois Field May 29-31.
The Illinois baseball team now looks to the NCAA regionals after Saturday's 5-3 loss to the Wolverines knocks them from the Big Ten Tournament in Minneapolis.
The 27 straight victories set a new Big Ten Conference record. After topping Nebraska Thursday, The Illini (46-6-1) will play Maryland Thursday in the Big Tournament.
The win streak has allowed Illinois to crack the top ten in the rankings for the first time ever, including a No. 8 rankings from a USA Today Coaches poll. UI also is ranked No. 9 by D1Baseball.com, Perfect Game and Baseball America.
