Though last weekend's performance at Maryland wasn't up to the level he'd reached through his first six Big Ten games, Illinois first baseman Bren Spillane brought a robust .452 conference average into the Rutgers series.
Research divulges that Spillane's current overall .455 average would rank among the top five all time in Illini annals.
At the top of UI's single-season list stands Darrin Fletcher, who hit an astronomic .497 in 1987.
One has to reach back 72 years to find an Illini hitter who compiled such monumental numbers as Spillane has this season. In 1946, Illinois' Lee Eilbracht compiled a record .