Illinois (5-2) opened the 2025 baseball home slate with a 19-8 victory today over Aurora at Illinois Field.

Jack Zebig provided some loud offense in the ballgame, going 2-for-4 with a run, double, grand slam and six RBI. Greg LaChance and Kyle Schupmann also homered in the contest.

The Illini used nine pitchers in the game, with Brayden Mazzacano getting the ball first, making his first career start, and Reed Gannon picking up his first-career win in relief by tossing a scoreless inning in the fifth.

Illinois went up 5-1 in the third when LaChance's two-run homer capped a three-run frame.

After Aurora cut the deficit to 5-4, Zebig's grand slam in the bottom half of the frame began to put the game out of reach, as his second home run of the season made it 12-7.

Illinois added two more runs in the seventh and Schupmann's three-run blast in the eighth capped off a five-run frame as the Illini ultimately went on to win 19-8.

LaChance finished 3-for-3 with two runs scored, a home run, two RBI and a walk. Schupmann was 2-for-3 with four runs scored, a double, home run, three RBI and three walks.

Nick Groves went 2-for-5 with two runs, a double, three RBI and a walk while Cameron Chee-Aloy stole five bases - setting a new program record.

Illinois Slams DIII Aurora

Illinois heads to the Las Vegas College Baseball Classic starting Friday with a matchup against Texas Tech. The round-robin tournament also features matchups against Washington and nationally-ranked Texas.