University of Illinois
1-3
Butler
2-2
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | Runs R | Hits H | Errors E |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Butler | 3 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 | 11 | 1 |
| Illinois | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 8 | 12 | 0 |
Illinois Comes Up Short in Home Opener Against Butler
February 17, 2026 | Baseball
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – Illinois dropped its home opener to Butler, 10-8, on Tuesday night at Illinois Field.
AJ Putty led the offense with a 3-for-5 day at the plate, posting a career-high three hits while driving in two runs and scoring twice.
Nick Groves, Collin Jennings, and Cole Warehime all registered multi-hit days for the Orange and Blue.
On the mound, Liam McKillop and Sam Mommer combined to toss three scoreless innings in relief.
GAME NOTES
- Nick Groves went 2-for-4 with a walk and a run.
- Reached base in his first (leadoff) at-bat for the fourth straight game.
- Extended his on-base streak to 17 games.
- Has multiple hits in three straight games and has at least a hit in all four games this season.
- Kyle Schupmann posted a 1-for-4 outing.
- Extended his on-base streak to 15 games.
- Has a hit in three straight games.
- Daniel Contreras went 1-for-5.
- Has a hit in three straight games.
- Will Johannes went 1-for-5 with two RBI.
- Has a hit in all four games this season.
- Has multiple RBI in three straight games.
- Collin Jennings went 2-for-5 with an RBI and a run scored.
- Posted his first multi-hit game of the season.
- AJ Putty went 3-for-5 with two RBI and two runs scored.
- Had a career-high three hits.
- Drove in multiple runs for the second time.
- Cole Warehime went 2-for-5.
- Recorded his first two hits of the season.
- Tore Indomenico, Ryan Johnson, Liam McKillop, and Sam Mommer all made their Illini debuts.
- Luke Weber made his first appearance of the season.
- Illinois set a new season-high with 12 hits.
- The Illini played their earliest outdoor home opener in program history.
UP NEXT
Illinois heads to Coastal Carolina for Baseball at the Beach from Feb. 20-22. The Illini will take on VCU twice (Feb. 20-21) before playing the host No. 6-ranked Chanticleers twice (Feb. 21-22).
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Winders, Max (1-0)
L: Weber, Luke (0-1)
S: Buckley, Brock (1)
Batting:
2B: Schebler, Charlie 1 ; Crock,Logan 1
HR: Burgess, Will 1
RBI: Rhoades, Matthew 1 ; Gilmore, Gavin 2 ; Christie, Alex 1 ; Burgess, Will 3 ; Crock,Logan 1
SF: Rhoades, Matthew 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Gavin, Danny 2 ; Gilmore, Gavin 1 ; Christie, Alex 1 ; Schebler, Charlie 1 ; Burgess, Will 1 ; Duncan, Gunnar 2 ; Crock,Logan 2
SB: Gavin, Danny 1 ; Gilmore, Gavin 1 ; Burgess, Will 3
CS: Duncan, Gunnar 1
HBP: Gavin, Danny 1 ; Rhoades, Matthew 1 ; Ayers, David 1 ; Crock,Logan 1
Batting:
2B: Putty, AJ 2 ; Warehime, Cole 1
RBI: Schupmann, Kyle 1 ; Contreras, Daniel 1 ; Johannes, Will 2 ; Jennings, Collin 1 ; Putty, AJ 2 ; Warehime, Cole 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Groves, Nick 1 ; Farina, Michael 1 ; Schupmann, Kyle 1 ; Contreras, Daniel 2 ; Jennings, Collin 1 ; Putty, AJ 2
HBP: Farina, Michael 1
PO: Johannes, Will 1
