CONWAY, S.C. – The Coastal Carolina Chanticleers will host the Illinois Fighting Illini for a three-game non-conference series this weekend, March 10-12, at Springs Brooks Stadium.
  • The Coastal Carolina and Illinois series opener on Friday, March 10, has been moved back to a 6 p.m. ET start time due to impending weather throughout the day.
 
  Friday, March 10
6 p.m. ET – ILLINI - RHP Riley Gowens (0-0, 5.79 ERA) vs. CCU - RHP Jacob Morrison (1-0, 5.74 ERA)
 
Saturday, March 11
2 p.m. ET – ILLINI - RHP Julius Sanchez (0-2, 6.30 ERA) vs. CCU - LHP Levi Huesman (1-0, 2.45 ERA)
 
Sunday, March 12
12:30 p.m. ET - ILLINI - RHP Jack Wenninger (2-0, 5.40 ERA) vs. CCU - RHP Matthew Potok (0-0, 7.20 ERA)
 

 ABOUT THE CHANTS
• Coastal Carolina is 8-4 overall on the season and is coming off a 13-11 midweek win over No. 2/5 nationally-ranked Wake Forest (March 7) on Tuesday night.
• Riding a four-game winning streak, the Chants have totaled 58 runs overall, scoring double-digit runs in three of the four wins and averaging 14.5 runs per contest.
• In the Chants' eight wins this season, they have scored double-digit runs in seven of them and are averaging 13.9 runs per game in those victories.
• As a team, the Chants are hitting .326 overall, which ranks 17th in all of NCAA Division I baseball, as nine different players are hitting over .300 on the season.
• Coastal's pitching staff has struck out 137 hitters compared to just 65 walks this season and posted an average of 11.5 strikeouts per nine innings on the year, which ranks 20th nationally.

  • The Fighting Illini are 6-4 overall on the season and is coming off a series win over Sam Houston (March 3-5) last weekend, winning two of the three games in Texas.
• Illinois has played a challenging schedule so far this season, as five of its 10 games have come against nationally-ranked opponents, with two games versus then-No. 6 Wake Forest (Feb. 18 & 19) and three at then-No. 18 Southern Miss (Feb. 24-26).
• The Fighting Illini offense is hitting .268 overall with 16 home runs, 23 doubles, 73 RBIs, and 78 runs scored. As a team, Illinois has struck out 11 times compared to just 61 walks over the first 10 games.
• Illinois' pitching staff has posted a 6.22 ERA on the season and struck out 88 batters over 88.1 innings pitched, highlighted by a combined 41 strikeouts from weekend starters Jack Wenninger and Riley Gowens.

  • The Chanticleers hold a slight 9-8 edge over the Fighting Illini in the all-time series, which dates back to 2010.
• Coastal is 9-6 overall versus Illinois at home in Conway, S.C., having hosted the Fighting Illini in 2010, 2012, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, and 2022.
• After winning three-straight games over the Illini in 2017-18, Illinois has won four of the last six meetings between the two teams, including a pair of midweek games at Illinois in 2019.

  • The Chants and Fighting Illini have played one common opponent thus far this season in the nationally-ranked Wake Forest Demon Deacons.
• Coastal defeated Wake Forest 13-11 on March 7, while Illinois dropped back-to-back games to the Demon Deacons by scores of 8-1 and 10-1 on Feb. 18 and 19, respectively.

  • Coastal and Illinois are no strangers on the baseball diamond, especially lately, having played each other at least once every year since 2014, except for the 2021 season.
• The Fighting Illini are frequent visitors to Springs Brooks Stadium, having played in the Carolinas Coastline Classic in 2022, the Brittain Resorts Invitational in both 2018 and 2020, the CCU Baseball Tournament in 2012 and 2019, and the Chanticleer Classic in 2015 and 2016.
• CCU also hosted Illinois at the Caravelle Resort Invitational in both 2010 and 2014.
• Coastal hosted Illinois for a three-game weekend series in 2017, the only time the two teams have met in a three-game series prior to this weekend.

  • With the win over the No. 2/5 Demon Deacons on Tuesday (March 7), Coastal improved to 27-15 all-time versus Wake Forest and has won nine of the last 10 meetings between the two teams dating back to the 2018 season.

  • Coastal's 13-11 midweek home win over No. 2/5 nationally-ranked Wake Forest on Tuesday night in Conway, S.C., was the Chanticleers' first win over a nationally-ranked opponent this season (1-1).
• It was also their first win over a top-10 nationally-ranked foe since defeating No. 8 East Carolina 9-1 at the 2022 NCAA Greenville Regional on May 5, 2022, of last year.
• The victory over No. 2/5 Wake Forest was the highest-ranking win over a nationally-ranked team since Coastal defeated No. 2 NC State 7-6 in Raleigh, N.C., on April 10, 2019.
• It was also the highest-ranked win for a Coastal team at home since beating No. 3 North Carolina 5-2 in Springs Brooks Stadium on May 9, 2018.

  • The Chanticleers are off to a great start to the month of March, having won each of their first four games of the month.
• CCU's offense has been madness, as the Chants have scored 58 runs compared to just 27 by their opponents over the four games this month.
 

For complete coverage of CCU baseball, follow the Chants on social media @CoastalBaseball (Twitter), facebook.com/CCUChanticleers (Facebook), @GoCCUsports (Instagram), or visit the official home of Coastal Carolina Athletics at www.GoCCUsports.com.