That is a smile of a proud father.  Russell Bonadonna (above) is holding the homerun ball hit by his son, Joe during Wednesday’s action at the Big Ten Tournament.  Bonadonna’s homer proved to be the game-winner in the win against Ohio State in the first round of the tournament.  Illinois won 3-2.

Tied 2-2, Bonadonna hit a solo homer to left in the seventh inning off of Buckeye reliever Dean Wolosiansky.  The score stood and Illinois won.

Kevin Manson: CG, 0 ER

But I can’t write any more without talking about Kevin Manson.  Why?  He simply dominated the Buckeyes today.  He began the game by striking out the first two Buckeyes.  Then he got better.  No earned runs, only 4 hits, no walks.  Manson rose to the occasion.

In some ways, it was a typical Illinois game.  We outhit them 11 to 4 but won 3-2.

Steal #40

Kyle Hudson walked in the first inning and you knew what was coming next.  Steal #40.  That steal tied Shawn Roof for the single season team record.  Hud later scored on a sac fly.

Illinois also scored when Brandon Wikoff doubled in the 3rd inning and Daniel Webb singled to drive him home.

Tomorrow, Illinois face #1 seed Michigan in a night game.

I’ve created a separate album in the photo gallery for the Big Ten Tournament.  You can access it here. I will have separate sub-albums for each game.

Penn State defeated Indiana 6-1 in the second game of the day.  If anyone is interested, I took photos of that game, too.

Finally, this week I’ll be doing daily updates on the Tournament on Brian Foley’s The College Baseball Blog.  Thanks to Brian for the opportunity.

Kyle Hudson OF First Team All-Big Ten

Leading the pack is Kyle Hudson who was named First Team All Big Ten.  Hud was second in the conference in hitting with a .411 batting average and second with 39 stolen bases.  Hudson also scored 60 runs (4th in conference).  All this was done in spite of ankle injury which sidelined him for four starts.

Hudson’s selection to the First Team was unanimous.

Joe Bonadonna 2B Second Team All-Big Ten

Joe Bonadonna hustles, there’s no doubt about it.  His 36 stolen bases and 46 runs are eclipsed only by Hudson on the Illini.  Bonadonna hit .375 for the year.

Brandon Wikoff SS Second Team All-Big Ten

Like Bonadonna, Brandon Wikoff is only 5’8″ but he ended the season fifth in rbis in the conference with 59.  Wikoff batted .381 in the number 3 spot and was very clutch down the stretch for the Illini.

Daniel Webb DH Second Team All-Big Ten

Daniel Webb was batting .400+ for a good part of the season before his average ended up at .387 (seventh in the conference).  Although primarily a DH, Webb filled in at right field when the need arose.  He led the team in homeruns (6) and was second in rbis (45).

Kevin Manson SP Third Team All-Big Ten

6’7″ Kevin Manson led the team in wins with seven which was tied for third in the Big Ten.  Manson was the reliable Friday starter who led the team in wins, strikeouts and innings pitched.  Manson had good control too allowing only 19 walks in 65 2/3 innings.

In addition, Kyle Hudson was awarded the Big Ten Sportsmanship Award for Illinois.

Congratulations to Kyle, Joe, Brandon, Daniel and Kevin on a job well done!!

A Look at the Standings

Let’s take a look at the Big 10 standings with just one weekend left.

Illinois maintains its third place spot (just barely) only one-half game ahead of Penn State and 1 1/2 ahead of Ohio State.  They will need a sweep of Purdue this weekend to take over second place and get the bye in the tournament.

Michigan has now clinched the home berth for the tourney making things easy for those who make travel arrangements, I’m sure.

It will be a tight race between Northwestern, Indiana and Michigan State for the last two spots.  Michigan State was knocked out of the tourney qualification in the last regular season game by Illinois last year.  I’ll bet MSU will do everything in their power to see that doesn’t happen again.

On thing that might help the Spartans… Northwestern’s schedule.  They have the pleasure (?) of playing Michigan this weekend.

All this said, it’s anyone’s game (except sadly for their fans, Indiana, Minnesota, and Iowa; they’re mathematically eliminated).  On the other hand, Purdue and Michigan fans can rest easy, their teams are in it.

Some Big Ten Leaders

Right now, Illinois has 3 hitters in the top ten in batting average in the Big Ten.  That would be Kyle Hudson (.409), Daniel Webb (.404) and Brandon Wikoff (.397).  Hudson also leads the conference in on-base percentage (.515), and runs scored (57).  Wikoff is fourth in rbis with 56.

Big Ten leaderboard

Next Game:

It’s getting close to crunch time.  Two more series left for the Illini this regular season; one against the team directly behind them and one directly ahead of them.

This weekend, it’s the Buckeyes who are in fourth place in the Big Ten and 2 1/2 games behind Illinois.

Interestingly, the Ohio State’s web site notes that “The two teams did not meet last year”.  Weird, I remember seeing our guys split with the Buckeyes in ’07.  Shawn Roof probably remembers that too.  He was hit by the pitcher four times, a Big Ten record.

Take the chance to check out The Buckeye Nine’s review on the series.

Awardy Stuff

Ryan Hastings and Daniel Webb have been named to ESPN Magazine’s Academic All-District 5 first team.  Hastings holds a perfect 4.0 GPA in the sport management graduate program. Webb has a 3.2 GPA in community health.

Congrats to both!

BTW, don’t forget to vote for Ryan for the Lowe’s Senior Class Award!

Finally, the lowdown on Ohio State:

Go Illini!!

Saturday, the Illini went 1-2. Not every day that’s going to happen.

My plan was to go the ballpark to see the Illini finish up Friday’s game with the Nittany Lions and play their regularly scheduled doubleheader and was pleasantly surprised to see my buddy Brando had shown up to root on the Illini. I was a bit late so he filled me in.

The Illini had made quick work of finishing up Friday’s game and even managed to score four runs to win 20-11. Daniel Webb wasn’t satisfied with four hits on Friday so he added one more to 5 for 6 (with 5 rbis). Final score 20-11.

(4/27 Update:) Freshman John Schlichter broke a Big Ten record for the Friday/Saturday game. His 3 triples are the most by a Big Ten batter in a conference game. (thanks to reader Joe Dirt… I missed this). He also managed 5 rbis.

And that was pretty much last good news of the day.

Illinois got off to a quick 1-0 lead when Kyle Hudson scored on a wild pitch in the first but that was squashed when PSU LF Scott Kelley hit a two-run homer over the right field wall. It was 4-1 when Cory Wine (remember Cory Wine from last night?) did the same thing in the fourth.

So with the score 4-1 in the top the fifth I had to go pick up my kids from the parking lot from my wife who was dropping them off. I found the car, got the kids, came back to where Brando and I were sitting, looked up at the scoreboard and… it was 10-1!!! What!!! I swear I was gone 5 minutes, eight minutes TOPS! Four singles, and homeruns by Cory Wine and Scott Kelley (again and again) will do much to alter the balance of reality.

Rough outing for Aaron Martin

Starter Aaron Martin suffered the brunt of the first five innings. Martin can be hot (he had a scoreless innings streak earlier this season. Then he has games like this. Things didn’t get a whole lot better when Wes Braun came in but the way Penn State was hitting today, I don’t know who could have stopped them.

One highlight… Freshman Pete Cappetta (left), who is our backup shortstop, hit a three-run homer in the bottom of the seventh. That was his first career homerun. It may not have seemed to have meant much but it did give Illini fans something to cheer about in game which there was not much to cheer about. Thanks Pete!

Illini Numbers

Pete Cappetta: 1 for 2, HR, 3 rbis

Aaron Martin: 5 IP, 12 H, 12 ER, 2 BB, 3 K (L)

Final Score: Penn State 16 Illinois 5

The second game pretty much got off to same start as the first with the Nits getting off to an 10-4 lead by the top of the 7th inning. The Illini did make it interesting by scoring three runs in the bottom of 7th on two singles and two Penn State errors. But it was not enough and Penn State won again 10-7.

Illini Numbers

Aaron Johnson: 3 for 3, 2B, 2 runs

Ryan Hastings: 3 for 4, HR, 2 runs, 2 rbis

Well, the Penn State team that has hit 20 homeruns all year going into this weekend has suddenly found their stroke and has hit seven in three games. Not only that, the team that was second to last in Big 10 in runs scored has shown they can score 37 runs in the same three games. Is it conference motivation? The ever prevailing Illinois Field wind?

I have photos from the first game on Saturday. By the way, I noticed when uploading these pictures that I now have over 1000 photos of University of Illinois baseball dating back to last year (and including the 2007 Big Ten Tournament). If you’re a fan, take a minute and browse through them.

Game 4 today at 12:05 today. Get out there and cheer the Illini!!

When then wind is blowing out like this you’re going to expect a high scoring game.  In this case, it might contribute to bad weather.  In this case, rain which suspended that game in the eighth inning.  Friday’s game will be be picked up at 2pm Saturday to be followed by the regularly scheduled doubleheader.  It will be a loooong day for both teams.

The action so far

Daniel Webb rapping a 3-run double in the first

Up until the game was called, Penn State has rapped 15 hits and scored 11 runs.  Every Nittany Lion except one has scored a run and all but two has a rbi.

The funny thing is the Illini are still winning.  Through eight, Illinois 16 runs on 22 hits.  Six Illini have multi-hit games going.  The big stars of the game (so far) is DH Daniel Webb, Casey McMurray and John Schlichter.  Webb is 4 for 5 with two doubles and four rbis.  Freshman McMurray is 5 for 5 with 3 rbis.  Schlichter has hit two triples and a double and scored three times and drove in three runs.

Brandon Wikoff crossing home plate for a run.  Is PSU catcher Joe Blackburn really that tall?

I have to give Penn State (actually both teams) their due.  They were down 9-3 in the top of the sixth when their offense kicked in.  They managed to score three runs in the sixth and seventh and two in the eighth making it an interesting game again.  For Illinois’ part, sensing the urgency, responded by scoring three runs in the bottom of the sixth and four in the seventh.

Interestingly, with the wild wind blowing out, there has been only one homerun hit in the game so far.  That belongs to Lion Cory Wine, the coach’s kid, who knocked one in the second inning.

So as it stands in the bottom of the eighth, Illinois 16 Penn State 11

Meeting more people

It seems every home game I meet at least one more parent of an Illini parent.  This time it was Bill Wikoff, father of SS Brandon Wikoff.  I’ve seen Bill around plenty at home game shouting encouragements to the team but this is the first time I’ve gotten a chance to talk to him.

Gain One, Lose One

Hudson’s back!

One last note… the Illini uniform sure looked good on Kyle Hudson after seeing him not suit up because of the ankle injury the last few games.  So far, he’s 2 for 5 in this game.  His first at-bat was a grounder to the thirdbaseman which he tried to run out and definitely tested that ankle.

Unfortunately, Illinois will be without 3B Dom Altobelli for a while.  Dom injured himself late in the game against Western Illinois.  He said he got an MRI two days ago which shows a torn labrum.  He told me he just wants to get his strength back.  No real idea when he will get back but I’ll bet this will be a lot longer than a couple games.

Take care of that shoulder, Dom.

Photos of the game here.  I ran out of batteries midway through so I don’t have any after the sixth inning.  Sorry.

Go Illini!!!

Yes, I say every Big Ten series is important but this one kind of is.  PSU is a game back in the standings and soooo much can happen in a four game set.  We found that out against Michigan.

Fortunately, the chances of something like that happening again don’t seem too likely.  We match up pretty well against Penn State.  As much as we play the small ball, I think we can say our power outmatches the Lions.  To date, they have only 14 homers and a .357 slugging percentage.  We’ve outscored them 269 to 190.

I probably shouldn’t even be talking like that though.  They ARE just one game back, right?  And they have won six in a row.  Well, let’s leave at this… The two teams’ pitching match up pretty evenly so as long as we give our hurlers some support, I think we’ll be ok.

And if you’re interested in getting news from the other perspective, check out Penn State baseball’s fan blog, Happy Valley Hardball.

Other News:

Joe Bonadonna (right) keeps racking in the awards.  In addition to his Big Ten Co-Player of the Week honor, Joe has just been named to the National All-Star Lineup as selected by College Baseball Foundation and Diamond Sports.  Joe, of course proved it was no fluke by rapping out 5 hits last night against Western.  For the season, he is hitting .391.

Which reminds me… four Illini starters are hovering around .400 mark.  Daniel Webb (.402), Brandon Wikoff (.394), Kyle Hudson (.392) and Bonadonna have been hitting the cover off the ball lately.  Webb also leads the team in homeruns with six.

Pray for good weather this weekend.

And here’s the scoop on Penn State:

See you at the ballpark!

Go Illini!!

Illinois didn’t look back after Aaron Johnson’s three-run HR in the 2nd

University of Illinois scored early and often against Illinois State in their 10-4 win Tuesday night.  Much of their offense came from catcher Aaron Johnson who was 3 for 4 with 4 rbis and 3 runs.

Johnson hit a three-run homerun in the second inning which made it 4-0 Illinois.  It was Johnson’s third dinger of the year.

Starter Billy Barrett was on his game tonight

Meanwhile, Billy Barrett was pitching a decent game.  His ERA before the game was 9+.  Never mind though, he held ISU to three hits in five innings giving up two runs.  In his new role in the bullpen, Mike Stankiewicz did well.  In four innings, he allowed just one earned run.

Despite being 0 for 5, Mike Giller scored a run, drove one in and stole a base.

Aaron Johnson wasn’t done.  He led off the 4th with a double and later scored on a ground out.  Illinois put together a small rally in the fifth inning sparked when Mike Giller ran out a fielding error by an ISU error.  Three hits by Ryan Hastings, Johnson, and Daniel Webb put two runs over the plate.

Daniel Webb, who by the way was playing right field tonight instead of his normal DH role, collected four hits for the game.  Dom Altobelli, Joe Bonadonna, Nick Stockwell and Casey McMurray also had multi-hit games.

Due to his ankle injury, Kyle Hudson didn’t suit up.  He did help out warming up the outfielders between innings.

For those wondering, Kyle Hudson did NOT play.  My guess is that Coach Hartleb didn’t want to take any risks in a midweek, non-conference game.  With Hudson’s absence in center, Illinois used Nick Stockwell in center, Dan Webb in right, and Mike Giller at DH.

Box score

More photos I took are here.

Next up: Western Illinois University Wednesday night at 6:30pm at Illinois Field.

The first game seemed to be outlet of pent-up burst of energy and frustration (not to mention offense) as the Illini crushed the Gophers 15-2.  Everything clicked on all cylinders… hitting and pitching.

Major kudos to DH Daniel Webb who cranked two homers and went 3 for 5 with 3 rbis.  Dom Altobelli also parked one to go along with his 3 rbis.  Craig Lutes went 3 for 5 with 2 runs and an rbi.

Webb’s two homeruns was the first multi-homerun game by an Illini this year, by the way.

Kevin Manson was very efficient allowing 2 runs, 6 hits and only one walk in eight innings for the “W”.

Game 2 was no blowout it was a good solid win.  Illinois took the Gophers 7-3.  The Illini were pretty much in control of the game for the duration.  Scott Shaw pitched 4 1/3 solid innings allowing one run.  Catcher Aaron Johnson homered for the second time this season.  Brandon Wikoff contributed by going 2 for 4 with 3 runs and 2 rbis.

SB record in Hud’s sights?

Kyle Hudson stole three more bases.  Add the one from the first game and he’s got 31 for the season.  The team record is held by his buddy and former teammate Shawn Roof with 40.  No doubt at this pace, that record is in danger.  Also, at the beginning of the weekend, Hud was two behind national leader in SB.

–

You can read the official wrap up of the games at fightingillini.com.  Also, Michael Schroeder has posted Diamond Notes #6 for anyone to read.

Up Next:  One more doubleheader today at Siebert Field starting at 11:05am.

It started in the third when Craig Lutes scored on a double steal.  That run would be the first of eight in that frame.  Daniel Webb contributed a 3-run homerun to boost the score.  Ironically, Webb’s homer was the only one of the high-scoring game.

The Illini weren’t done yet.  They scored two in the fourth and fifth each.  By the sixth, they, Hartleb was bringing in the reserves.  In spite of that they broke out for another big inning when John Schlichter (who was playing third base today) cracked a 3-run double.  Add one more run when Ryan Hastings scored on a bases-loaded walk and you have a 4-run innings and a 16-0 game.

The Illini added just one more in the seventh for a final score of 17-0.

The pitching staff had no problem with the Blueboy offense.   And by “staff”, that is no exaggeration.  No less than seven pitchers took the mound tonight (none pitching more than 2 innings) all doing a superb job.  Combined, the Illini pitching gave up only 4 hits and 2 walks.

Big hitters tonight:

John Schlichter:  4 for 5, 3 doubles, 2 runs, 4 rbis  (His first start in a while.  He wanted to impress.)

Daniel Webb:  2 for 3, HR, run, 4 rbis

Mike Giller:  2 for 4, 2 runs, rbi (again, Giller made the most of a rare start)

The Illini stole five bases tonight.  Craig Lutes swiped two in the third inning alone.

Congrats to the Illini!  This is just the confidence builder we’ll need when we (weather permitting) take on Big Ten leader Michigan this weekend.

Go Illini!