Ben Troike ended the 2017 season on a five-game hitting streak.
For the most part, Troike’s freshman campaign was not spectacular, not was it awful. Illinois’ shortstop started 50 out of 51 games at short for the Illini in 2017 (impressive!), but he only batted (.234, 45-for-192, eh). Troike also led Big Ten freshmen shortstops in fielding percentage (.964) and helped the Illini rank second in the nation in double plays per game (1.18).
For all of the good Troike was providing an underwhelming Illinois team, his bat was still an issue, as it is for most freshmen.