Dom is off to a hot start this early season hitting .333, slugging .600 with five rbis and already has hit his first homerun.

Good luck, Dom!

“I like the attitude Altobelli brings to the park. He wants to move up, but he’s not going to bury a teammate to do it. He’s the type of guy who will offer help to a first-year player, even though they might be fighting for the same position. “

That sounds like the Dominic Altobelli that I remember from not that long ago.

Dom Altobelli played for the University of Illinois from 2006-2009 and is currently with the Class A Tri-City Dust Devils in the Colorado Rockies organization.

Mike Altobelli sent me an update on his son Dominic Altobelli.  Along with the update came a digital baseball card of the former Illini thirdbaseman from when he played with the Tri-City Dust Devils in 2010.

Mike says in part:

“(Dom) has been busy Teaching at Marist High School and also teaching
Baseball at the Bo Dome in New Lenox Ill. The younger boys love when they
can get instruction from a Pro Baseball Player. Dom is such a good teacher
of the game. He is excited about Spring Training and the opportunity to move
up in the Rockies System. The Rockies and the Arizona Diamondbacks  will
share a Brand new Spring training site in Scottsdale Az. This is a new state
of the art facility!”

For the year, Dom hit .244 with two homeruns and 16 rbis in 133 at-bats in A ball.  Thanks for the update, Mike!!

The Northwoods League All-Star classic is coming up in one week.  It’s no surprise that there are a few Illini populating the rosters.  Adam Davis and Josh Parr who both play for the Madison Mallards, are representing the South Division.  Matt Dittman will face his usual ‘mates on the North team as a member of the Rochester Honkers.  Davis is hitting a nifty .359 so far this summer while Parr is fourth in the league with 48 hits and sixth with 14 stolen bases.

And Dittman?  Seems like he’s healthy now which is good news for us Illini fans.  Ditt has 26 rbis for the Honkers and is fourth in the NWL with 10 doubles.  He had a quite a game a couple weeks ago when he was named NWL Player of the Night with two dingers.

And some news from the pros:

Former 3B Dominic Altobelli hit his first professional homerun on July 6 for the Tri-City Dust Devils.  He did it in style too.  It was a two-out grand slam in the eighth inning.  His dad, Mike says he’s splitting time between thirdbase and right field. 

Speaking of scoring big, check out what former Illini Dusty Bensko has been up to.  Congrats to him and his new bride!  By the way, Illini baseball fans will recognize some of the names of the wedding party.

He’ll be moving up in more ways than one.  Dom will be leaving the warm climes of Arizona and going north to the Dust Devils digs in Pesco, Washington.  The Devils are in the Northwest League which includes teams from Washington, Oregon and yes, Canada.  Pack a sweater, Dom.

Here’s what dad Mike had to say in his email to me:

“He had a great Extended Spring training. Worked hard on all facets of his game. Dom hit 3 Homeruns and had  Multiple extra base hits as well as many stolen bases. His Defense is much improved. They got him playing 2^nd , first and 3^rd. He can also Play the outfield…

The main thing here is for Dominic to make a name for himself and put up some numbers. If he can do that he has a great opportunity to move up the ladder. I’m so proud of this kid! I know what he is going through , and believe me its tough! Pro Ball is a grind everyday.! Only the strong survive!!”

Mike indeed knows what it’s like.  Back in the late 70s and early 80s, he spent three years in the Oakland organization as a pitcher/outfielder. 

Dom’s already listed in the Dust Devils’ roster.  They have him classified as a thirdbaseman.  I couldn’t help but notice that he has uniform #2, the same number he had as an Illini. 

Altobelli graduated in finance in 2009 and was drafted by the Colorado Rockies in the 16th round (481st overall).  Here are his college stats.

Good luck Dom!  Hit ‘em where they ain’t!

http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?t=t_ros&cid=460&stn=true&sid=t460

In Illini Nation, Craig Lutes is the hero of the day.  Yes, he’s in that mob of Illinois players you see in the above photo.  Not only is he the one who hit the walk-off homerun against the Northwestern Wildcats today to win 4-3 but he’s bringing a bit of hope to the beleaguered Illini baseball team. 

With one out in the ninth and the score tied 3-3, Lutes cracked a homer to right field.  It was his second of the year.

Pardon me, while I indulge you with a few Lutes photos from today:

Lutes readies himself to go into right field early in the game

With a smile on his face, Craig Lutes rounds the bases after hitting his walk-off homer

Lutes gets interviewed by the Big Ten Network after the game…

… then soon afterward gets doused by shaving cream by his teammates.

Dad John Lutes got his share of congrats, too

Craig Lutes wasn’t the only hero for today.  Overshadowed in the headlines of the walk-off was the fantastic performance of starter Kevin Johnson.  When Kevin is on, boy, is he on!  He spread out nine hits over eight innings and only allowed three runs to a team that scored eleven last night.  The only sin was that he didn’t get the win.  Not that Bryan Roberts, who is usually the save man, doesn’t deserve it.  He pitched a perfect ninth for the ‘W’. 

A couple other performances of note…

Key rbi for Cappetta today

Recently, Pete Cappetta has been coming in late innings to play third base, something new.  Tonight, he got a start there, giving freshman Brandon Hohl a break.  Pete responded with a key hit in the 5th inning which scored Mike Giller. 

Casey McMurray continues to produce as he banged out two hits.

So thank you Craig Lutes and company.  The phrase I heard over and over from the parents and other fans after the game was “we really needed this”.  That is so true.  Watching the team congregate on home plate and mingling after the game, I get the sense that there is an air of winning now. 

Now let’s win Sunday’s game!!

Check out the rest of my photos at the photo gallery or just watch the slideshow.

Giving credit where credit is due

Props to two Northwestern Wildcats…. CF Arby Fields and starting pitcher Eric Jokisch.  Fields, who had two homeruns last night, continued his attack today with a 3 for 4 performance including a homerun.  Fields is the Wildcat leadoff man.  Note to the Northwestern coaching staff:  you might want to move him down a bit.

The eighth inning notwithstanding, Wildcat starter Eric Jokisch pitched a heck of a game.  For a while there, it looked like the two runs that the Wildcats were able to produce would be enough to win the game.  Jokisch comes with hype but no doubt, he lives up to it.

Altos bring good luck??

Thumbs up from Papa Alto for a win

I was happy to see my friends Mike and Kathy Altobelli at the game today.  The Altobellis are the parents of former 3B Dominic Altobelli.  Dom graduated last year and was drafted by the Colorado Rockies. 

It was good to see Mike.  I really got to know Mike last year during Dom’s senior year and he really made coming to Illini baseball game that much more fun. 

Mike sent me a photo of Dom, by the way.  Here he is in a Colorado Rockies uni:

Mike tells me that Dom is playing in extended spring training right now and is still loving the game of baseball (of course). 

Just for kicks

Finally, I’m posting this photo for my friend, Robin who watched me get my timing right as the gum-chewing ump was blowing a bubble.  I finally got it.

And please, no hate mail from umpires.  I have the utmost respect for the men in blue who work tirelessly and get little accolades from the fans.  If they get any attention at all, it’s of the negative kind. 

But I do like the photo. 

Great job, Illini!  Let’s win this series!

On a broader scale, we went 2-2 for the weekend which is a whole lot better than the ultimate result we had been getting.  Not to mention the exciting win against #12 Coastal Carolina Chants.  Maybe it doesn’t it doesn’t rank up there with beating LSU last year but it shows that this year’s team can win and win big.  But the big question is why. 

One, our bullpen is showing flashes of brilliance.  For the weekend, they had an ERA 4.02.  Not perfect but definitely an improvement over the early season.  Mike Sterk, Kevin Manson and Bryan Roberts had especially good preferences as did Wes Braun. 

Two, the coaching staff made a change that I’ve been secretly hoping they would make.  They put Lee Zerrusen in the starting role.  Lee responded by winning the game against Ball State.  Hopefully, his seven inning, three run performance is typical of him and we’ll see more of him. 

And three, the offense just plain scored runs.  Win or lose this weekend, Illinois hit the ball and put runners over the plate.  In all four games, the Illini averaged almost eight runs per game.  Up until this weekend, they averaged 5.5 runs per game. 

What is exciting to me is seeing some players really develop from past seasons and start hitting the ball this season.  I’ve already talked about Matt Dittman ad nauseum.  Last year, he hit .278.  He’s up to .563 now.  Valued DH/LF Casey McMurray (left)is hitting 100 points over last year’s mark.  And it was nice to see Craig Lutes crack his first homerun since his sophomore year.  His batting average has gone up significantly as well.  Out of the bullpen, senior Mike Sterk, who only made six appearances last year, has really been a force to be reckoned now.  We’ve seen him four times already and he’s sporting a decent 3.68 ERA.  Sterk has had a part in two of the Illini’s three wins with one win and one save.

Before I finish this back-slapping, I can’t ignore Friday starter Will Strack (right).  Strack has  quietly done his job quite admirably.  His 1.96 ERA and .197 opponents batting average is tops on the team.  That isn’t a surprise to me.  I saw that in him last year as a freshman.

Next up

Coming up, the Illini players will forego their spring break and travel down to Winter Haven, Florida.  They’ll be playing six games in seven days.  That part will be rough on the guys, I’m sure but no ranked teams are in the mix for better or worse. 

For those counting, sixteen days till the opening homestand against Chicago State. 

Update from the Pros

I heard from Mike Altobelli, former 3B Dominic Altobelli’s father.  He gave me an update on Dom (right). 

“Now that Dominic is playing Pro Ball we  know how important his time at U of I was. Dom spent two weeks in Naples Florida with Joey  Bonadona( Texas Rangers), Dino Anna( San Diego Padres) Brian & DJ Wabick( Houston Astros & NY Mets).  They worked out every day and conditioned they way they were trained at Illinois.  This was a good move on there part because if you go to spring training early you don’t get enough reps in the field or at bats. 

Dom is in Tucson now and has begun his Spring Training with the Rockies. They are staying at the Sheraton in Tucson and he said the complex is awesome! 6 fields right next to the big league club. Lars Davis is with him.  How cool is that!!  He said its kinda crazy in the locker room.. 180 ballplayers all over the place! They should be splitting up by next week and start playing games soon.”

Mike said he misses the University of Illinois baseball program and reiterated his kind words for the coaching staff here.  I personally have a soft spot for Mike Alto.  It was fun to talk to him at the ballpark and he and his wife were nice enough to give me a ride to Columbus for the Big Ten Tournament last year.  Good luck to Dom!!

Go Illini!

Again, these photos are not the best quality but definitely valuable from an archive perspective. 

Enjoy.

Shawn Roof at bat against the Hawkeyes (4/22/06)

Jake Toohey warming up in the pen (4/22/06)

Senior Day against Michigan (5/7/06)

Shawn Roof (5/7/06)

Dominic Altobelli gets a hit (5/7/06)

and as tradition in the last home game, the kids came out to play afterwards. (5/7/06)

This is a digital replica of former Illini Dominic Altobelli’s official baseball card this year when he played for the Casper Ghosts.  His father Mike, who sent me the card, is very positive about how Dom’s first season progressed saying that he began “driving some balls toward the end of the season”.  They like what they see and know Dom has the right attitude. 

And hey, wasn’t that Dom who almost caught Derrek Lee’s homerun at Sunday’s Cub game?

Mike Altobelli sends this photo along of his son Dominic Altobelli.  Dom, a former Illini thirdbaseman who was picked this year’s MLB draft has been playing for the Casper (Wyo.) Ghosts all year.  The Ghosts are an Advanced Rookie affiliate of the Rockies in the Pioneer League.

Dom’s parents took some time off and spent a week out in Casper.  Not only did they enjoy the beautiful Casper area, they got a good chance to see Dominic in action.  The Casper Ghosts as a team have had a rough time of it going 17-31 so far this season but Dom remains positive.  “He looks great and his mindset is where it needs to be,” says Dad.  There’s also talk of putting Dom on a power program to build his upper body strength, according to Mike.

Dom’s primary position is third base but he’s filled in at second base and DH as well.  The Ghosts wrap up their season on September 11. 

Thanks for the update (which you can read in full in the comments section here) and for the great photo, Mike. 

Good luck, Dom!!