University of Illinois baseball head coach Dan Hartleb picked up career win No. 300 in No. 15 Illinois' 17-2 rout of Northwestern on Sunday. The Fighting Illini pounded out a season-high 20 hits and 17 runs, sweeping the Wildcats for the second year in a row for their eighth consecutive win over NU.
Junior Jason Goldstein went 3-for-4 with a career-high four RBI, including a three-run blast in the fifth. Shortstop Adam Walton was 3-for-4 and led off the sixth with a solo shot, giving UI three home runs in a game for the third time this year. Illinois ranks second in the Big Ten with 25 homers in 2015.
Senior David Kerian extended his career-long hitting streak to 17 games with a 2-for-4 afternoon. That marks the longest streak by an Illini since Walton hit in 18 consecutive contests last season.
Sophomore Matthew James equaled a career-high two hits and three RBI, while senior Casey Fletcher was the sixth Illini with multiple hits and tied a career-high three runs.
Senior John Kravetz improved to 3-0 with five strikeouts over six innings.
Relievers Rob McDonnell, Anthony Milazzo and Tyler Jay each worked a scoreless stanza to wrap up the game.
Illinois has won five straight and 12 of its last 14 for a 24-6-1 overall record, marking its best record through 31 games since 1989 (25-6). The Illini sit second in the Big Ten after beginning conference play 5-1 for the second year in a row.
The 15th-ranked Illini have a pair of midweek games coming up when they travel to Eastern Illinois on Tuesday (April 7) and return home against Saint Louis on Wednesday (April 8).
