CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – The Fighting Illini opened their final homestand of the season with a 10-2 win over Bradley on Wednesday night at Illinois Field.

Multi-hit days from Cole Crafton, Michael Farina, and J.R. Nelson fueled the Illinois offense, while Ike Young, Sam Reed, Ben Plumley, Liam McKillop, Luke Weber, and Olivier Martel combined for 14 total strikeouts.

Reed recorded the victory, throwing two scoreless innings while striking out two. Young fanned five while getting the start and going three innings. Martel, McKillop, and Weber all also posted multiple strikeouts.

Farina finished with a 2-for-5 day at the plate with three RBI, while Crafton and Nelson both went 2-for-4. Collin Jennings hit his team-leading 13th home run of the season, a three-run shot, in the seventh.

After the Braves opened the scoring in the second, the Orange and Blue got on the board with five runs in the bottom of the fifth to take the lead. The hosts sent nine batters to the plate in the frame, with five different Illini tallying an RBI.

Bradley got a run back in the six, but Illinois answered by scoring the game's final five runs. Farina accounted for two RBI, both on run-scoring singles, while Jennings launched a three-run shot to right in the seventh.

The Illini bullpen retired the final eight batters it faced to close out the eight-run win.

POSTGAME NOTES

• Nick Groves went 1-for-3 with two runs scored.
  • Has now reached safely in nine straight games.
  • Scored multiple runs for the 10th time.
• Michael Farina went 2-for-5 with three RBI.
  • Marked his team-leading 18th multi-hit game of the season.
  • Tied his career-high with three RBI.
    • Had multiple RBI for the fifth time.
• Jack Zebig went 1-for-4.
  • Has reached safely in 13 straight contests.
  • Has a hit in five straight games.
• AJ Putty reached on two walks.
  • Drew multiple walks for the fifth time.
• Kyle Schupmann recorded a 1-for-3 day at the plate and drew a walk.
  • Has reached safely in 14 games in a row.
• Collin Jennings went 1-for-4 with a home run and three RBI.
  • Hit his team-leading 13th home run of the season.
    • Has a homer in back-to-back games for the third time this year.
  • Has multiple RBI in 11 games.
• Cole Crafton went 2-for-4 and scored a run.
  • Marked the first multi-hit game of his career.
  • Has scored a run in each of his last four appearances.
• J.R. Nelson went 2-for-4 with an RBI.
  • Was his sixth multi-hit outing of the season.
  • Has reached safely in seven straight games.
• Ike Young got the start, going three innings with five strikeouts.
  • Tied his career-high with five Ks.
  • Went at least three innings for the third time.
• Sam Reed recorded the win, tossing two scoreless innings in relief.
  • Was his second win of the season and the sixth of his Illini career.
  • Went at least two innings for the eighth time.
  • Recorded multiple strikeouts for the fourth time this season.
• Liam McKillop threw a scoreless inning in relief while striking out two.
  • Posted multiple strikeouts for the fourth time.
• Luke Weber went 0.2 innings with striking out the only two batters he faced.
  • Had multiple strikeouts for the fourth time.
• Olivier Martel tossed 1.1 scoreless innings with three strikeouts.
  • Had multiple strikeouts for the fifth time.
• The Illinois pitching staff's 14 strikeouts were its second-most this season.
• The Illini earned their fourth straight win over Bradley.

UP NEXT

The Fighting Illini (24-23, 10-14 B1G) closes its home schedule with a three-game series against Northwestern, starting on Friday at 6 p.m. CT.