The University of Illinois Springfield baseball team was far from an offensive juggernaut last season, batting a league-worst .241.
The Prairie Stars are knocking it out of the park a year later.
UIS (23-17 overall) has hit 40 home runs and is the second-best home run hitting team in the Great Lakes Valley Conference.
Junior outfielder Trey Hannam is tied for third in the league with 10 home runs. Senior second baseman Adam Warda has eight. Senior third baseman Gabriel Acevedo and junior designated hitter/first baseman Jason Galeano have six each.
"We’re hitting for power right now,” UIS coach Chris Ramirez said. “It makes it fun to watch, coach and play."
There’s more to UIS’ season than the long ball. UIS has a higher batting average. It ranks seventh in the 16-team GLVC with a .297 average.
Six UIS players are hitting between .300 and .375.
“It helps our competitive edge come out,” Hannam said. “We all want to be the best. The weather keeps getting hotter and that always helps the ball fly a little bit.”
The team was featured by The State Journal-Register on April 29, 2016.
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