No doubt, Coach Hartleb was sorry to see sorry to see Tilson go but wished him well:

“It’s one of those situations when a high school player makes a decision to give up an opportunity and take advantage of another opportunity.  The money has to be such that they feel they can give up their education and give up their college experience.

“Like I told Charlie, it’s bittersweet from a program standpoint. It’s disappointing. At the same time, I’m happy for Charlie.”

Monday was the deadline for drafted players to sign with their teams.  It was reported that Tilson signed at 5pm that day.  From New Trier HS, he hit .406 this past season with 42 runs and stole 30 bases.

Parr injury update

The Springfield Journal Register has a feature article on former Illini shortstop Josh Parr who is now playing for the Single A Missoula Osprey.  A few weeks ago, Parr took a pitch to the face and as a result, broke bones in his cheek as well as a tooth.

Parr as his usual nature, was positive about the whole thing:

“I got out of the way just in time,’’ Parr said. “A broken cheek bone is a good thing. When I look back at the film, I didn’t have much time to move. I moved just enough where the cheek bone took the damage rather than the orbital bone. I could have had eye problems.’’

Right now, he’s not playing but travels with the team.  Chewing is painful so shakes and soft foods are a necessity.  Parr hopes to get back into action by the end of the season.

Congrats to Adam Davis who got signed by the Baltimore Orioles yesterday.  Davis was drafted in the 11th round of the MLB rookie draft by the Orioles.

Davis reported yesterday to the Orioles’ minor league complex in Sarasota, Florida.  He joins Josh Parr, Chris Pack, and Corey Kimes as Illini who have been signed by their parent organizations.

Adam Davis was All-Big Ten Second Team in 2011.  He hit .290 with 5 homeruns and 33 rbis.

There were two more signings of Illini players this weekend.

Corey Kimes inked a contract with the Minnesota Twins on Saturday.  Kimes was picked in the 18th round by the Twins.  He’ll report to the Fort Myers (Fla) Miracle in the Florida State League which is a single-A advanced league.

Also, the Florida Marlins signed Chris Pack to a free-agent deal.  He’ll be joining their Gulf Coast League affiliate, the Gulf Coast Marlins in Jupiter, Florida.

This brings the grand total of Illini signings to three so far.  Josh Parr signed with the Daimondbacks last week.

Congrats and good luck, Corey and Chris!!

Congratulations to Josh Parr who just signed with the Arizona Diamondbacks Thursday.  Shortstop Parr, who just finished his junior year with the University of Illinois, signed quickly after the Dbacks drafted him in the 12th round on Tuesday.

You can expect to see Parr soon in the short season single-A Northwest League where he will be playing for the Yakima (Washington) Bears.  Their season begins on June 17th.

Congratulations, Josh!!

One month from yesterday, the Illini baseball team will be playing in their first game of the 2011 season.  It’s hard to believe.  I remind baseball fans from here who are counting the days to MLB Spring Training or Opening Day that Illinois Baseball starts so much earlier.  I tell them, “Hey, only a month away”.

2011 Recruiting Class +1

Before I forget, there was some actual Illini baseball news over the holiday break.  The Illini coaches added one more to the 2011 recruiting class.  Chase Hainline who comes from Olympia HS in Stanford, Illinois signed a letter of intent.  Hainline who is a 5’9” outfielder, has some formidable numbers so far.  He hit .427 with 26 stolen bases and 47 runs.

Clubhouse addition

I’ve gone past Illinois Field recently and underneath all the ice and snow, it looks like the new addition to the clubhouse is nearing completion.  I can’t speak for how the inside looks but the outside looks great.  When I get a chance, I’ll bring the camera out there and get a few shots of the progress.

How you can follow IBR

Finally, in the spirit of the new year, I’d like to remind everyone of all the ways you can follow the Illinois Baseball Report.  If you are on Facebook, consider becoming a fan of the Illinois Baseball Report’s fan page. If you do, you’ll get notified whenever there is a new article on the website.

If you prefer using Twitter, we do that too.  Follow @illbaseballrpt and similarly, your Twitter account will get notified when IBR is updated.

… or you could just come here to the web page.  I like that, too.

Good luck to everyone in 2011 and especially good luck to the University of Illinois baseball team!

Good news for former Illini firstbaseman Mike Rohde.  The Gary Southshore Railcats have signed him for the 2010 season.  Rohde, who was the league’s 2008 Rookie of the Year, moved to thirdbase last year. 

And go figure, Rohde got a blogging gig for the Northwest Indiana Times last summer.  If we’re lucky, we’ll see more of that this summer.

Congrats, Mike. 

According to the Denver Post, the Colorado Rockies signed 27 of the draft picks including catcher Lars Davis who they called an “intriguing catcher from Illinois”.

And from what I read in the local News-Gazette, shortstop Shawn Roof has signed a contract with the Detroit Tigers.

As far as Casey Crosby, the top pitcher who had originally committed to the University of Illinois and was drafted by the Tigers, they still working on an agreement. Says Crosby in the Elburn Herald, “They said that they have every intention of signing me.”

In 2005, his senior year, Bensko led the Illini in homeruns with 15 and rbis with 57 while hitting .317.

Good luck Dusty!

Former Illini outfielder Ryan Rogowski has committed to sign with the Los Angeles Dodgers once he finishes his season with the Madison Mallards of the Northwoods League.

Rogo has had a bang-up season with the Mallards.  He’s led the team in batting average, runs, hits, stolen bases, triples, homeruns, slugging percentage, and on-base percentage.

I guess in retrospect it would have been easier to list what he was not leading the team in. 

Good luck, Rogo!!