No tourney but Illinois baseball ends 2016 on winning note

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Illinois won their last two games against Michigan but it just wasn’t enough.  Going into the last game, their fate was in the hands of Michigan State and the Spartans let them down.  As a result, Illinois will not be going to the Big Ten Baseball Tournament next week.  This will be only the third time that Coach Hartleb will not be advancing to the tournament in his eleven-year tenure. 

Iowa snuck into the Tournament as the 8th seed.  They will be joining Minnesota, Nebraska, Indiana, Ohio State, Michigan, Maryland and Michigan State in Omaha next Wednesday to begin a new chapter in the 2016 season. 

 

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It was Senior Day on Saturday.  As an alum, I know graduating from the University of Illinois is a significant event. Congrats to Nick Blackburn, Jason Goldstein, Michael Hurwitz, Andrew Mamlic, Charlie Naso, and J.D. Nielsen.  Volunteer Coach Kyle Hudson (above with his family) was also recognized for returning and getting his degree. 

The attendance on Saturday’s game was a healthy 2,007.  That’s pretty good considering the students have gone home after the semester.  In fact, the Illini have just announced that 2016 is the second best year for attendance.  More than 23,000 fans attended games in 2016.  Not too surprisingly, last year’s season was record breaking as far as attendance not too mention in other areas as well. 

At this point, it seems a bit superfluous but here are the recaps for the games this past weekend….

 

Game #49 / May 19, 2016    
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Draft prospect Cody Sedlock pitched what for some could have been a career game on Thursday night.  In a complete game, he gave up just three hits.  Unfortunately, one of those hits was a solo homerun to Johnny Slater, his first of the year.  The Illini offense couldn’t get anything going and the 1-0 was the final score. 

Sedlock has pitched nine or more innings for four of the last five games.  That’s a stat that the scouts are definitely paying attention. 

Fighting Illini Game Wrapup

Photos from Thursday

 

Random Ramblings

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The mood on the field after the game was a little emotional especially for those seniors who would not be returning next season like Michael Hurwitz and Jason Goldstein.

 

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That’s not to say some didn’t get a little goofy as well. 

 

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Those of you at Saturday’s game may have seen these guys rooting for Dan Rowbottom.  They were wildly pantomiming rowing a boat and shouting “Row, Row, Row!” whenever Dan was up to bat.  It wasn’t long before other fans joined in too. 

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I think this fan participation is awesome. I hope these guys come back next season and start this up.  I spoke to Dan after the game and he was definitely appreciative of support. 

Thanks, Illini!

One Comment:

  1. Ann - Illini Baseball Fan

    Seeing long-time Illini fan Robin McElwee throw the first pitch on Friday night was a treat! Great to see so many fans out even when the weather didn’t cooperate this season (which was often). The staff did an excellent job, too.

    The team did a fantastic job with many of the freshman stepping up to fill big shoes. Thank you!

    Looking forward to next year and possibly seeing some summer ball. Can’t wait for the listing to come out.

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