DECATUR, Ill. (WCIA) – Millikin baseball is playing at a high level with the postseason just around the corner.
The Big Blue clinched the CCIW regular season title on Sunday, improving to 15-5 in conference play. It has won seven games in a row, and 11 of its last 12.
The success comes thanks, in large part, to some incredibly good pitching. Millikin’s 2.86 team ERA ranks fourth nationally in DIII.
“We’ve had pitching for most of the year, it’s been pretty reliable,” Millikin head baseball coach Brandon Townsend said.
When fielding and hitting matches the level of the Big Blue’s 2026 pitching the ceiling gets even higher.
“We’re not making a ton of errors right now,” Townsend said. “We’re making routine plays look routine. We made a couple of switches on the field and that group is kind of come together for the last 12, 13 games – we’ve been pretty solid there.”
Millikin’s offense, which started slower and ranks in the bottom half of the conference in runs scored, has been heating up as the regular season nears a close. Townsend’s team has posted more than 10.5 runs per game during its current seven-game winning streak.
Williamsville High School graduate Brayden Saling has been sensational as a freshman. He boasts a 9-0 record and 2.26 ERA.
The Big Blue has two more regular season games after Wednesday night. Then, it will host the conference tournament May 6-9.
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