Box Score

In the 2nd inning, Western Carolina accomplished something you don’t see everyday…  a triple play.

 Illinois 2nd – Dittman, M. walked (3-2 BFBBFB). McMurray, C. singled up the middle (2-1 BBK); Dittman, M. advanced to second. Cappetta, P. lined into triple play 3b to 1b (3-2 BBBKK); McMurray, C. out on the play; Dittman, M. out on the play. 0 runs, 1 hit, 0 errors, 0 LOB.

Unlike the game against East Carolina, Illinois never had the lead, though it WAS close.  WCU had a 3-0 lead by the end of the 4th and the good guys managed to close  the gap a little thanks in part to a solo homer by Mike Giller (left) in the 4th. 

Other than Giller, the offense was pretty quiet.  Casey McMurray was 2 for 4 but the team didn’t manage to capitalize… no runs or rbis for Mac. 

By the numbers
26	Total strikeouts by Illini batters in the last two games
4	Season total of rbis for Mike Giller (now leads the team)
4-1	Record in 2009 after 5 games

Those four Catamount runs came off Starter Brian de le Torriente.  Three of them were earned.  Considering WCU got eight hits, it was lucky that de la Torriente kept them to four.  Or perhaps it wasn’t luck.  The fact that he didn’t walk a batter probably helped.  In his two starts, he hasn’t given up any walks.

Illinois got good performances from the bullpen.  Kevin Manson saw the ball for the first time this year and responded well.  He pitched 2 1/3 innings of shutout ball.  Coach Hartleb put Lee Zerrusen in to finish the game and he pitched a scoreless eighth. 

Next up

The Illini play their last game of the Classic on Sunday bright and early at 9 am against the West Virginia Mountaineers.  The Fighting Illini can take some heart that they have a 6-0 record against the Mountaineers. 

Random Stuff

Coach Hartleb’s former recruit Seth Schwindenhammer (whose name I always have  to copy and paste) was named in Bus Leagues Baseball’s The Best Names in Minor League Baseball.  Schwindenhammer is now with the Red Sox organization.

I suggested to BLB that their list should include our own Joe Bonadonna (right) who is now with the Texas Rangers organization.  His name just rolls off the tongue. 

Go Illini!

According to fightingillini.com, Illinois is going with the same starters from last weekend…. Will Strack, Brian de la Torriente, and Kevin Johnson.  Strack will have a tough job going against an East Carolina team that is ranked #21 right now.  Their 4-3 record suggests that they CAN be beaten though.

A bit of trivia… the last time we played Western Carolina (was in the Stetson Tournament in  2006.  That was former catcher Lars Davis’ first appearance for the Illini.  He went 4 for 5 for the weekend with 4 rbis.  A sign of things to come for that particular Illini Canadian catcher. 

Illini closer Lee Zerrusen does another write-up for Diamond Notes #2.  This is his second in a row… I’m sure but maybe he’ll be the team’s designated scribe… he does well at it.  He gives a quick wrap-up of last weekend and a looks forward to this weekend. 

He also introduces freshman reliever Tanner Libby (right):

Being the youngest member of the bullpen, (Tanner) got the distinguished honor of carrying a pink Barbie Princess backpack through the airport and to the games. This bag carries sunflower seeds, gum, and peanuts among other things for guys in the bullpen to have during the game.

Don’t feel too bad, Tanner.  My 9-year old daughter thinks that’s pretty awesome.  Watch out, everyone will want one soon enough. 

Finally, I just want to remind everyone Illinois Baseball Report is on Facebook and on Twitter @illbaseballrpt.  If that makes it easier for you to get updates, feel free to follow IBR in those ways.

Go Illini!!

Two of Illinois’ opponents in the Classic, Western Carolina and East Carolina, have had their most recent games fall victim to the nasty weather the east coast has been having.  Both of their games were canceled.

Let’s take a look at Illinois’ opponents for the Keith LeClair Classic.

Harrington leads the Pirates with a .393 batting average and six runs.   Jared Avchen is also someone to watch.  He’s the Pirate catcher and was named to the Johnny Bench Watch list just like Aaron Johnson was.

The Catamounts have a trio of boppers in Kirkpatrick, Tyler White, and Cameron Dulling.  All are hitting over .400.  Kirkpatrick got hot against  Charlotte and hit two dingers last Tuesday. 

And if you’re wondering (because I was and had to look it up), a catamount is a cougar.  cat-a-mount… makes sense now.

Set your alarm clock.  This is an early game. 

The Mountaineers just came off an 18-14 win so despite their 2-5 record, it’s clear they can put some runs on the board. 

Gyorko is main offensive threat on this team.  He leads in homers, doubles, rbis and runs.   Matt Frazer (.450) and Dom Hayes (.429) are also hitters to watch out for.

What the Illini need to do this weekend

Obviously, the key thing for the Illini to do is to put the last two losses out of their mind and focus at the task at hand.  These games are winnable. 

Will Strack can to build on his success he had against Notre Dame.  Kevin Johnson and Brian de la Torriente, who from all accounts, didn’t pitched ok, just need to translate their good work into wins. 

Of course, that can’t happen without some offense.  It’s common, almost a Murphy’s Law, that when you get good pitching, you don’t get offense and vice-versa.  It’s just a question of how to break out of it. 

And Matt Dittman… don’t change a thing.

Go Illini!!!

The Stetson Invitational is over and the UI baseball team is already 0-3 for the season.  It just seemed like a case of missed opportunities and bad timing.  On Saturday, they held South Florida to 4 runs but were only able to score 2.  

On the other hand, the bats came alive on Sunday and they exploded for 13 runs.  Sure enough, opponent West Carolina managed to score 14.   Those runs were mostly due to the Illini pitchers’ control problems.  All told, they gave up seven walks and six (yes, six) hit batsmen. 

Trying to look on the bright side, Lars Davis who was playing for the Illini for the first time, went 4-5 for the weekend with 4 ribbies.  This is surely a good sign as he has very big shoes to fill.  Chris Robinson was the Illini catcher who graduated last year and is currently in the Detroit Tigers’ farm system (fantasy leaguers, keep an eye on him… he’s good!).  If he can begin to fill the huge gap left by Robbie, that can only be a good thing.

For the weekend, Coach Hartleb said:

“Defensively, we have a lot of guys playing new positions, and they’re going to have to settle in as we go,” Hartleb said. “As far as the pitching goes, we have to limit the number of guys we put on base. It’s disappointing that we gave so many free passes with the big lead we had.”

That’s true to the point of stating the obvious.  I’m sure he had more pointed observations to make in the locker room. 

Chin up, guys!  There’s a whole season ahead of you.