Photos of Game 1 of Illini’s Orange and Blue World Series

orangebluemon 083

Today was the first day of the University of Illinois baseball Orange and Blue World Series.  It was a nice mild October afternoon day for a baseball game and it was nice to see a few fans out at Illinois Field to watch the guys play ball.

It may be a “World Series” but most of the pomp and circumstance you have with a regularly scheduled baseball game are thrown out the window for these games.  No national anthem, no working scoreboard, no announced lineups… just hard working ballplayers showing up to play a baseball game.  And for me who hasn’t seen an Illini game since May, that was fine with me.

Here are some photos I took.  Above, John Anderson got in a few innings for the Orange team.

orangebluemon 043

I saw a few visitors at the park today.  I met pitcher Rob McDonnell’s father, Dan, who came down from the suburbs.  Also, it’s always nice to see Peggy Libby who came down to see her son, Tanner pitch.

But the real surprise was seeing former Illini shortstop Brandon Wikoff (above) who is speeding his way up the Houston Astros organization.  He just finished a Triple-A season this year.

orangebluemon 099

We got a chance to see freshman pitcher Luke Joyce in action.  He’s 6’3” and check out the stride on his delivery!

orangebluemon 058

OF Wille Argo looks to be in good shape for the ‘11 season.

orangebluemon 063

Argo hasn’t lost any speed either.  Here he forces a wild throw on a steal attempt.

orangebluemon 131

Chris Pack is another new pitcher for the Illini.  He’s listed as a senior and came over from Villanova.

orangebluemon 118

Senior outfielder Pat Sheehan makes his way to third on a hit.

I have a few more photos at the photo gallery.

Two more games are scheduled for the Orange and Blue series.  They will be Tuesday and Wednesday at Illinois Field.  Gametime is around 4:30pm or whenever they get around to it.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.