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Illinois baseball produces first no-hitter in over 35 years in win over Purdue
By Paul Harvey
Published:
Illinois punctuated a weekend sweep of Purdue with a bit of history!
On Sunday afternoon, three Illini pitchers combined to no-hit the Boilermakers, producing the 11th no-hitter in program history. It is the first no-hitter for Illinois since 1985.
The three pitchers going for the Illini were Riley Gowens, Ryan O’Hara, and Cole Kirschsieper. Kellen Sarver produced the lone RBI in the game as Illinois won the game 1-0.
.@IlliniBaseball has the 11th no-hitter in the 142-year program history and the first since 1985. https://t.co/vNOOfh1zpv pic.twitter.com/JkcWHJU9EL
— Illini Stats & Notes (@IlliniStats) April 25, 2021
The star of the game was Gowens who started and went seven dominant innings for Illinois. He issued four walks but struck out six without a hit before O’Hara and Kirschsieper closed out the deal.
Final line for @riley_gowens » 7.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 4 BB, 6 SO
MID 8 | #Illini 0, Purdue 0 pic.twitter.com/1A9fEpQgzh
— Illinois Baseball (@IlliniBaseball) April 25, 2021
The shutout was preserved in the bottom of the eighth with a wild double play. After a dropped third strike on a punchout by O’Hara, the Boilermakers tried to score from third on the throw to first. A strike to the plate and a bang-bang tag ended the inning:
𝑾𝑶𝑨𝑯𝑯𝑯𝑯!
A strikeout by @Ryancohara9 and then a caught stealing at home! Purdue still hitless through eight innings.
🖥️ ($) » https://t.co/vJvRZDnExt
📻 » https://t.co/1XII7Q6Cv7
📈 » https://t.co/ijedAtwKVoEND 8 | #Illini 0, Purdue 0 pic.twitter.com/iqNuyksI3M
— Illinois Baseball (@IlliniBaseball) April 25, 2021
Paul is a lifelong fan and student of all things college football. He has been covering college football since 2017 and the B1G since 2018.