Some quick thoughts on the series

Kevin Johnson put in his trademark hard luck game on Friday.  He only gave up two earned runs in seven innings and got the loss.  That’s his sixth loss on the year on just two wins.  Tough year.

On the other hand, John Anderson (left) won his sixth game on Saturday when the Illini defeated Purdue 7-4.  He also was a third of an inning away from getting his fifth complete game of the season.  Wes Braun came in and got his sixth save.  By the way, has anyone noticed Braun’s ERA lately?  It’s hovering under 0.60 right now.

Interestingly, every starter except batting leader Justin Parr got a hit on Saturday.  Let ‘em catch up, Justin.

Sunday’s game was quite a doozy.  It was a roller coaster affair with Illinois getting the quick 4-0 lead then Purdue eventually working to catch up to get the lead back by the fifth inning 5-4.    The ninth inning was key for Illinois.  A two out rally with base hits by Justin Parr, Pete Cappetta, and Brandon Hohl sandwiched around an error was enough to score two runs and win 7-5.

Chris Pack gets the deserved win in relief.  He went 4 2/3 scoreless innings allowing just two hits.  Pack also pitched a perfect inning in Friday’s loss.

Cappetta continues his Big Ten dominance.. he was 3 for 3 and had six hits for the weekend.

Random Ramblings

In case you hadn’t heard, U of I Athletic Director Ron Guenther is calling it quits after 19 years.

Chris Pack’s win on Sunday gives him a 5-1 record.  All of his games have been in relief but his five wins put him second on the team (behind Anderson’s six).  For that matter, Will Strack (who just has one start) is tied for third in wins with three.

Next Up

Our last regular season series of the year this weekend against Indiana.  Keep in mind that this “weekend” will start a day early on Thursday, May 19th.  Thursday’s game starts at 6:05pm.

Go Illini!

I really hope you came to the park last night.  If you missed Illinois’ exciting 13-9 victory over the Ohio State Buckeyes, you missed, in my guess, one of the best games of past few years.  It ranks up their with our win against the same Ohio State team two years ago and even the famed Michigan State game of 2007 (if you ever want to read up on that just do a search on this site using the keyword “Woo hoo”).

When Ohio State scored four run in the top of the first inning, it looked like it might be one those games.  But when the Illini came back in the bottom of the first and scored three of their own, it looked more like it would be one of THOSE games.  And you know what I mean.

Adam Davis beats the throw to home and scores in the second inning.

It wasn’t until the top of the fourth inning when a team held the other scoreless.  By then, Ohio State had the lead, 9-7.  Each time Ohio State managed to put runs on the board, Illinois followed suit, keeping close enough.  The irony of it was that from Kevin Johnson’s perspective, he was getting rocked hard but the offense was really coming through for him.

Four Innings

Johnson was done after 2 2/3 innings and Will Strack (above) took over for him.  There are many heroes for this game but Will is a big one.  After the Buckeyes scored 9 runs in three innings, we didn’t know what was in store.  Will Strack came in for four innings and shut down the Buckeyes on two hits.  Those nine runs would be all that the Buckeyes would score for the game.  Chris Pack and Wes Braun finished off the game with a combined 2 1/3 innings of scoreless and hitless ball.

Four Runs

Pete Cappetta drives home two runs in the sixth inning.

Before the game, I shook Pete Cappetta’s hand and told him “You’re going to win this game”.  All he said was “Yes we will, sir”.  It’s almost like he took it as a direct order.  It was his two-run basehit that put Illinois up for good in the key sixth inning.  The Fighting Illini scored four runs that inning off of new Buckeyes pitcher Jared Strayer who relieved starter Drew Rucinski.  Strayer began the inning by hitting Adam Davis then giving up a double to Brandon Hohl.  Casey McMurray and Willie Argo both singled.  Argo’s single tied game.  Josh Parr walk which set up Cappetta’s two-run single.

Every starter in the lineup had at least one hit and at least one rbi or run scored.  Justin Parr, Brandon Hohl and Casey McMurray all had three hits apiece. Parr and McMurray drove in three and Adam Davis scored three.

The Illini faithful stand for the last out.

There were 2019 people in attendance last night.  It’s by far the largest crowd this year but I don’t think it surpasses the crowd we had two years ago.

There are lots more of my photos here.

Oh one more photo… I particularly enjoy this one.

Here, Davis Hendrickson is running out an infield hit.  What makes it for me is the fan in the background calling him safe.  He’s right, of course.

Next up:

Weather-permitting, Illinois takes on the Buckeyes again today at 3:05 at Illinois Field.

Corey Kimes is the scheduled Sunday starter this weekend

Illinois travels to Ann Arbor this weekend to play Michigan.  One note before I go on… the Friday game has been moved up to 3:05pm because of weather.

Illinois’ offense will need to find their bats as they are currently haven’t scored a run in 16 innings.  I’ve heard the term “Midweek Curse” bandied about Illinois Field.  I don’t know about that since I know there many factors that go into it but I do know this… these weekend conference games are oh so important.

Here is a link to fightingillini.com’s weekend preview.

Time was, the University of Michigan was a dynasty in Big Ten baseball.  They were the team to beat and were a lock for the top two positions in the standings.  They were the ones to go on the Regionals.

That was then and this is now.  2011 has not been kind to the Wolverines.  They started the season by losing their first eight games and have also suffered two additional four game losing streaks.  Currently, they are 9-22.  Another telling stat:  Michigan has been outscored by their opponents by an incredible 204-124 margin.

But that said, this is Michigan.  The same team who holds a 130-98-2 all-time record against the UI.  When it comes to the Wolverines, you can throw win-loss records and stats out the window.  Every day is a brand new game with them.

PS Michigan catcher Crank Coley has one of coolest baseball names in college baseball.  He’s living up to it as he has three dingers already this year.

Random Ramblings

There will be live audio and Gametracker for all three games on fightingillini.com.  On Friday and Sunday, Big Ten Network will be broadcasting live audio on their website.

Kudos to the bullpen as of late.  Wes Braun (above), Will Strack, Luke Joyce and others have really been enjoying some considerable success in the late innings.

Let’s go Illini!

Luke Joyce and the rest of the bullpen kept SIU scoreless for 4 plus innings

Starter John Anderson had a rough fourth inning but in all he only allowed three runs on five hits.  He was saddled with the loss and is now 3-4.  The bullpen staff of Matt Milroy, Luke Joyce Will Strack and Wes Braun kept the Salukis scoreless for 4 1/3 innings.

Pete Cappetta started the game today at second base moving Justin Parr to DH.  Both players got a hit each and it was good to see Pete make a couple nice plays out there.

Matt Dittman holds the runner on

There are a few more photos here.

Random Ramblings

Tonight, a friend at the ballpark asked me about using the term “tools of ignorance” in my last article.  No, I wasn’t insulting Adam Davis.  Admittedly, it’s a rather archaic baseball term but in baseball lexicon “tools of ignorance” refers to the gear that catchers wear each game.

From Baseball Reference.com’s Bullpen:

“The tools of ignorance is a nickname for a catcher’s protective equipment: catchers mask, chest protector, and shin guards. Different sources have credited Muddy Ruel and Bill Dickey with coining the phrase. According to either version, the usage was meant to be ironic, contrasting the inteligence needed by a catcher to handle the duties of the position with the foolishness needed to play a position hazardous enough to require so much protective equipment.”

Just to clear the air.

Next up

The team visits Ann Arbor to play Michigan this weekend.  Game time on Friday is 5:05 pm.

IlliniHQ also had an accompanying ‘just-the-facts’ article.  By the way, it’s official, Josh Parr injured is knee during practice which explains his absence last night (I heard rumors but wasn’t going to publish anything till I heard something more detailed).

Speaking of IlliniHQ, they ran a piece on Casey McMurray that shows just how tough he really his.

“The Illinois left fielder played his entire junior year with cysts in his tailbone area that made even sitting — much less running and sliding — at times excruciating.”

Ouch.

Finally, the Daily Illini has been pretty good about paying attention to Illinois baseball all season. Kudos to them.  This past week, they ran an article on Will Strack billing him as ‘Dynamic Strack’.

Penn State got off to a quick 6-0 lead off Kevin Johnson.  All six Nits runs came in the first inning and Johnson settled down after that.  He only allowed one more hit in the next 5 2/3 innings.

Down six runs, the Illini nickeled and dimed the Lions getting one run in the second, fourth, fifth and sixth. When they scored two in the seventh, that tied the the game 6-6.  It was the fateful ninth when Willie Argo (left) hit his triple and scored on Parr’s basehit.

Will Strack got the win on 1 1/3 scoreless innings.  In that time, he struck out three batters.  Wes Braun came in and got his his third save of the year.

Every starter got a hit in Friday’s game.  Casey McMurray had three hits including a triple.  Argo, Parr, and Adam Davis all had two hits apiece.

Random Ramblings

This is the second Friday in a row where the Illini have won in the ninth inning.  This is turning out to be an exciting season so far.

Interesting move by the coaches to make Justin Parr the DH in Friday’s game.  I think it was a move to keep hot hitting Thomas Lindauer in the lineup and still get Justin some playing time to get his timing back.  Lindauer has been hitting .348 since he was put in lineup during the Southern IL spring trip.  He’s leading the team albeit with limited time.

Dang, if Kevin Johnson can’t get a win (okay, he does have one).  Granted, his first inning on Friday was atrocious (he gave up a leadoff homer and put the first seven runners on) but after that he retired the next eight batters.  After that first inning while Illini hitters were slowly bringing their score up, he just allowed one hit and kept Penn State at bay.

Next up

Today’s Penn State game is at 1:05pm.

Go Illini!!

Forecasts show a high of 43 with showers.  So wear something warm.  It’s a 3pm game time (for the moment… you know how these early season games go).

The Illini preview isn’t out yet so it will be interesting to see who the starting pitchers will be this weekend.  My guess is that Coach Hartleb will go with the usual Johnson-Anderson-Kimes but it wouldn’t surprise me either if Will Strack (left) was thrown in there somewhere considering his outstanding performance on Sunday.

Rick Heller is in his second year as head coach of the Sycamores.  Under Heller, the team went 35-19 in 2010 and he has the distinction of having the best record for a first year coach.  So it’s safe to say they’re happy with him so far.  This season, the team has come down to earth with a 11-9 record so far.  No doubt that’s good but the Missouri Valley Conference is competitive so it’s anyone’s game.

Outfielder Robby Ort is the big threat with the bat.  He leads the team in homers, rbis and runs scored.  Colin Rea is a pitcher to watch as well.  He’s 4-1 with a 3.89 ERA.  He can bring it, too.  He’s got 31 strikeouts in 34 plus innings.

Random Ramblings

No word yet if there’s a bus trip planned for St Louis when Illinois plays Missouri on March 29.  Once I hear anything, I’ll post it.

One more thought:  somebody get Brian de la Torriente some innings so that 99.00 ERA can go down.

Let’s go Illini!

After defeating St Louis on Saturday, I’m sure Illinois felt extra motivated to win Sunday’s game against Southern Illinois University.  Coming home on a winning note is always good for the fan base.  And win they did, taking the Salukis 8-2.

It was an strange game in a way.  It was a pitcher’s duel for 11 innings.  Then with the score tied 2-2, the Illini’s bats woke up and they scored six in the top of the 12th.  Wes Braun pitched a perfect 12th inning (including two Ks) to bring the game to a close.

It was Will Strack’s first start of the year and boy, he really came through.  It’s a pity he didn’t get the win.  Through eight innings, only two Salukis got hits off of him.  Will was pretty stingy with his pitches too only needing 86 for those eight innings.  Once again, the bullpen did its job. In this case, it  was Luke Joyce who pitched 2 1/3 pressure-filled scoreless innings.  Matt Milroy, who got the official win, helped him get out of a small jam in the 11th and as mentioned, Braun took care of business in the 12th.

Offensively, Davis Hendrickson had three hits while Willie Argo, Josh Parr, Adam Davis, and Matt Dittman all contributed two.

Frosh infielder Thomas Lindauer (left) only had one hit but he seemed to help the team in so many ways.  When all was said and done, he had 2 rbis and 2 run scored.  Combine that with his performance on Saturday and that’s worthy of a co-Freshman of the Week award, so says the Big Ten.

Congrats, Thomas!!

Next Up

Illinois will try to continue their mini-win streak against Indiana State this weekend right here in Champaign.  Friday’s game is an afternoon affair at 3pm.  Be there or be square!

I even brought a friend (but managed to sneak a few photos anyways).

Last year’s Friday starter Will Strack got the Orange team going.

That’s Daniel Parker playing third and freshman Thomas Lindauer from Moline, IL at shortstop.  Thomas banged out a double off the wall later in the game.

Matt Milroy played OF yesterday but today he took a turn on the mound. 

Brandon Hohl gets a jump (literally) off first base.

More photos at the photo gallery.

If you want to see the Illini this fall, tomorrow (Wednesday) is your last chance.  Come by around 4:30 or so.

I wandered in to see how the clubhouse addition was coming along and then watched some practice, too.  Here are some photos.  You see Brandon Hohl at his familiar thirdbase position at the top. 

Coach Westray imparting some sage advice to some of the pitchers.

The outfielders were shagging some fly balls with the help of Coach Snider.

The pitchers were working on covering first today.  Matt Dittman feeds a ball to one here.

It was exciting to see Will Strack pitching to live batters today. 

More photos at the gallery or watch the slideshow.