Can FSU baseball stay unbeaten against Illinois on the road?

FSU baseball (7-0) will look to remain unbeaten Friday afternoon when they travel to Greenville, South Carolina, to play the Illinois Fighting Illini (3-5) in the First Pitch Invitational. This game will be the first of three this weekend. FSU will play another Big Ten school, Michigan State, on Saturday before finishing up against Western Michigan on Sunday. The Noles pounded South Florida earlier this week in mid-week action. Illinois snapped a three-game losing streak by defeating Eastern Illinois Tuesday. Illinois isn't a good hitting team, batting .231 overall with a .328 on-base percentage. Their batters strikeout in 23 percent of their at-bats have eight home runs, and only 1-3 in stolen bases. Illinois pitchers bring a 5.63 ERA into the game, with 72 strikeouts and 39 walks in 70.1 innings.

Opposing batters hit .229 and hit 11 home runs. Defensively, Illinois is excellent, with a .990 fielding percentage (3 errors in 286 chances). FSU will go with its usual Friday starter, Cam Leiter. He matches up well against a team that doesn't swing it well. Jack Crowder has started on Fridays for Illinois this year. He is a big guy at 6'4" and 225 pounds, with a quality arm, low 90s fastball, good slider, and change-up. He doesn't blow guys away despite his stuff and can be erratic with walks at times. FSU has been hitting the ball well this season, working pitchers for walks and bringing a .473 on-base percentage into the game. This game will come down to FSU pitching continuing to produce quality innings and not beating themselves with walks. They should be fine against this Illinois lineup. If FSU batters show patience at the plate, I think they'll continue to stay hot and produce runs. They've gotten ahead early in most games this year, and that will be key against a team that struggles offensively.