Chambana Sun

Illinois baseball secured a decisive 21-11 victory over Northern Illinois, marking their fourth consecutive win and completing a series sweep. The game, held at Illinois Field, saw the Illini achieve a season-high eight home runs.

Jacob Schroeder and Drake Westcott led the offensive charge with three home runs each. They combined for six hits in eight at-bats, contributing seven runs and 13 RBIs. This performance helped Illinois come close to matching their single-game program record for home runs.

Ben Plumley earned the win from the bullpen, delivering 1.2 innings without allowing a hit or walk while striking out three batters. Payton Hutchings also contributed with one scoreless inning on the mound.

The game began with Illinois trailing by six runs but quickly narrowed the gap with contributions from Cal Hejza and Westcott. Despite Northern Illinois briefly regaining the lead, Illinois surged ahead in subsequent innings with multiple home runs from Westcott and Schroeder.

Cameron Chee-Aloy and Ryan Moerman added to the scoring in later innings, while Schroeder's third homer of the day brought Illinois' total to 21 runs—their highest since May 2015 against Rutgers.

Northern Illinois managed two additional runs before the game's conclusion, but it was not enough to challenge Illinois' dominant performance.

The Fighting Illini will continue their homestand against SIUE on Tuesday evening at Illinois Field.

"Jacob Schroeder went 3-for-4 with three runs, three home runs, eight RBI and walk."

"Drake Westcott went 3-for-4 with four runs, three home runs, five RBI and a walk."

"Cal Hejza went 2-for-3 with three runs scored, a home run, four RBI and two walks."

"Cameron Chee-Aloy went 2-for-2 with three runs scored, a triple, home run, RBI and a walk."

"The eight home runs slugged by Illinois was the most in a single game since at least 2004."