OXFORD, Miss. — Illinois’ mix of veterans and freshmen in its lineup were all on equal footing heading into Friday’s NCAA regional opener against Clemson. None of them had a single inning of postseason experience.
Only redshirt senior reliever Sean Leland had appeared in an NCAA tournament game. Even his was just an 1 1/3 in two games out of the bullpen as a true freshman at Louisville in 2015.
Everything about Friday afternoon’s game at Swayze Field on the Ole Miss campus was new. That didn’t keep Illinois from hanging with a hard-hitting Clemson team loaded with NCAA tournament experience for three innings, but the Illini failed to capitalize on multiple scoring opportunities as the game progressed.