Shawn Roof

It’s Birthday time for Illini baseball players!  Today, on August 3, four former Illini will celebrate birthdays. 

Happy Birthday to Ryan Hastings, Ty Milner, Shawn Roof and Scott Shaw.  Milner and Shaw were even born on the exact day. 

So if you know any of these guys, wish them a good one!!

Ryan Hastings: 3 for 4, 2 doubles

It was a valiant effort to be sure. But Illinois will not be playing any more games in the Big Ten Tournament and will be heading home. Indiana defeated them 14-7 earlier today in Day 3 of the Big Ten Tournament.

Despite the score, Illinois made it interesting. Down by 9-1, they rallied. Scoring three runs in the 7th and 8th innings, they came within two runs 9-7. But that was all they could muster and to add insult to injury, Indiana added five more in the bottom of the 8th.

Indiana hit the ball and and hit it hard. The tandem of Chris Hervey and Josh Phegley were a two-man wrecking crew. Between the two of them, they were a combined 7 for 8 with 8 rbis and 8 runs.

Altobelli coming home to score

Ryan Hastings and Dom Altobelli came through with 3 hits for the Illini. Casey McMurray, who was 2 for 3 with 2 rbis, keyed the 7th innng rally with a 2-run double. Hastings, Altobelli, and McMurray all got base hits in the 8th inning spurt of runs.

Credit John Schlichter for taking one for the team. He took two. Schlichter was hit by the pitch twice in the game and scored both times.

Indiana’s Tyler Tufts got the complete game win.

More photos from the game

Tournament info

More Zealot coverage of the Tournament

So on to Ann Arbor we go next week!

The Big Ten Network was on hand to broadcast the games.

The bad news is that Illinois isn’t playing like a tournament team at the moment.  They were bowled over by the Purdue Boilermakers in both games of Friday’s doubleheader losing by the scores of 14-4 and 13-8.  Adding insult to injury, we did this in front of the Big Ten Network audience.

Game Two’s battery, Aaron Johnson and Scott Shaw in happier times.  Shaw would give up 11 runs before he was done.

The outcomes of both games seemed not to be question as Purdue scored early and often.  Illinois did make a valiant effort in Game 2 to come back.  Down 12-1 in the fifth inning, Illinois scored five runs in the bottom of the inning but Purdue’s lead proved to be too great.

The man in blue is all over this play and Kyle Hudson was called out stealing.  Hud was 5 for 10 for the day with a stolen base.

Kyle Hudson garnered 5 hits in 10 at-bats for the two games as well as stealing base #38.  He needs 3 more to break the team record.  Ryan Hastings went 4 for 7 for the day with double and two rbis in Game 2.

One other positive note that you won’t see reflected in the box score is the defensive play by John Schlichter.  He flashed some good leather several times during the day including a 5-2 play getting the runner out at the plate.

Ryan Hastings went 4 for 7 with a double for the day.

I always enjoy talking to and meeting the player’s parents in the stands.  Brian Hastings, father of Ryan, and I chatted for a while, discussing our current pitching woes and the upcoming draft.  He later introduced me to Casey McMurray’s father Kevin, talking up my website.  Thanks for the plug, Brian.

I even met up with the opposition.  In between games, I spoke with Bob Wolgamot whose son, Ben, is the secondbaseman for Purdue.   Ben is from nearby Danville.  Bob says several of the Purdue players play for the Danville Dans over the summer.  I’m sure I’ll see Bob again as he plans to be up in Ann Arbor next week for the Tournament.

Saturday, the Illini have a chance to get back at Purdue and end the regular season in winning style.  Game time for the doubleheader is 4pm at Illinois Field.  The Big Ten Network will be broadcasting both games.  Go Illini!  Let’s show everyone what kind of team we really have!!

More photos here

Starter Kevin Manson pitched a gem of a game allowing just two runs (one earned) in 6 innings, walking no one.

It was a balanced offensive attack as eight starters got at least one hit.  CF Kyle Hudson banged out two hits and scored twice.  Ryan Hastings put together 2 hits and including an rbi double.

John Schlichter’s two-run double was key in the Illini’s 3-run 5th.

The bullpen is rested.  The balance of the game will pick up at 12:05pm Saturday before the scheduled doubleheader.

Go Illini!

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!!

Joe Bonadonna’s always in a hurry

Illinois split a doubleheader with Northwestern Saturday losing a squeaker 4-3 then in the second game, crushing the Wildcats 11-5 behind a pair of career-first homers by Kyle Hudson and John Schlichter.

The kids and I got to the park just as fans were spilling of the stands after the first game.  I asked people on the sidewalk what the outcome was and was informed that we lost.  I asked some more people but unfortunately they said the same thing.

We got into the park and I saw Mike Sterk’s mom, Joyce aka “The StatLady”.  I call her that because she keeps a mean scorecard.  Detailed down to the backwards “K” for strikeout looking.  Even I don’t that.

Anyway, I said I heard we lost and wondered what happened.  “Well, Mike gave up a homerun”, she said.

Oops.

She was really nice though and showed me the scorecard for the game and as tempting as it might be, one person can’t always be responsible for a loss just as they aren’t always be responsible for a win.

Hudson swiping #35 of the year

Game Two went a whole lot better.  Illinois had two homers from Kyle Hudson and John Schlichter.  Amazingly, they were career firsts for both players.  Schlichter was 2 for 3 with 4 rbis and Hudson was 3 for 4 with 3 rbis and 2 runs and a stolen base.

Schlichter hit his first career homer in the second game

Schlichter’s homer was part of a 5 run rally in the 5th inning which pretty much put the game out of reach at 9-2, though the Wildcats did plate three more runs.

QB Starter Phil Haig was on the mound for the Illini in game two and pitched his best game yet.  He lasted 6 innings and gave up a run.

I ran into Ryan Hastings’ father Brian and mentioned the nice two-page feature article the News-Gazette did on Ryan.  I asked how Ryan was doing.  Brian says he thinks Ryan has had a solid season but he’s waiting for him to break out into a hot streak.  I told him that a hot streak against Ohio State or Purdue would be perfect.

One last thing, kudos to my 8-year old daughter Olivia who has come with me to the last 5 home games (‘cepting game one today).  She’s a real trooper and is now beginning to learn the players’ names and such by reading the baseball cards they hand out.  Oh, Joe Bonadonna, you have a new number one fan now.  She digs your at bat music.

I’ll be out of town Monday so I’ll unfortunately miss the last Illinois-Northwestern game.  Cheer extra hard for me!

More photos (a lot more) here.

Go Illini!

One more thing… if you haven’t already,  vote for Ryan Hastings for the Lowe’s Senior Class Award.

Brandon Wikoff tips helmets with Kyle Hudson as on-deck Aaron Johnson watches on

Illinois defeated Northwestern Saturday 14-4. Brandon Wikoff was the big producer going 5 for 5 for 5 with 2 doubles, a homer, six rbis, and four runs. Yes, that’s right… he was one base away from a cycle. I was standing next to Brandon’s dad when he got the second double to deep center. He was REALLY hoping for that triple, I could tell. Cycle or no, awesome day by Brandon.

Illinois starter Kevin Manson won the game, improving his record to 6-1.

Here is the game in pictures.

Starter Kevin Manson is third in the Big Ten in wins with 6.

We got there in time to see Brandon Wikoff hit his homerun. His 6 rbis puts him 3rd in the Big Ten with 51 for the season.

Bonadonna on first base…	and there…
he…	goes!!

The next time up, Wikoff got a little chin music…

…but he battled back for a single to right.

A lot more photos at the Photo Gallery. I’ll be there for most of the doubleheader today.

Important: Don’t forget… vote for Ryan Hastings for the Lowe’s Senior Class Award. Fan voting counts toward 25% of the voting.

Here’s Ryan’s bio on the Award web site. Good luck, Ryan!!!

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!!

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.

Next Game:

It’s going to be a big series up north this weekend.  The Illini are one game ahead of the Golden Gophers in the Big Ten standings.  Illinois is working on getting out of a five-game losing streak.  The last time they won was their 17-0 walloping of Illinois College.  Minnesota is having a rough time of it too.  They lost nine of their last twelve.

An interesting note:  Phil Haig is set start Game 3.  It looks like Mike Stankiewicz is the odd man out.  Haig has looked real good in relief though he got yanked after one inning in the EIU fiasco.

If you’re interested in some good coverage of this weekend’s series from a Minnesota perspective, check out the TNABACG blog who covers the Golden Gophers baseball team among other Minnesota sports.

Illini Shorts: SS Brandon Wikoff is now leading the team in batting average, flirting with .400 (.398)…  Kyle Hudson is second in the nation in stolen bases with 27.  Only Jimmy Miles from Old Dominion has more with 29…  Congrats to Ryan Hastings who is now a finalist for the Lowe’s Senior CLASS Award.

I’m ready for a win… how about you?

The 411 on Minnesota:

Go Illini!!

Update: The weather has postponed tonight’s game in Minneapolis.  The two teams will play doubleheaders on Saturday and Sunday to make up for it.