I dropped by the fourth game of the Orange and Blue series after work today. I ran into former Illini shortstop Shawn Roof at the game. I hadn’t seen Roof (shown above with junior Nathan Lawrence) since the Big Ten Tournament last spring so we caught up with each other. …
On Sunday, my son and I went to Illinois Field to watch the Illini play Game 3 of their Orange and Blue Series. Coach Hartleb (right) takes the field before the game. Scott Shaw pitches for the Orange team. In 2006, Scott was practically unhittable when he was on his game. Freshman…
There’s been an interesting but probably not surprising development in the case to bring a minor league team to Champaign-Urbana. Among other points, investors are saying that the sale of beer would be critical to the financial success of the team. From the AP artcle via WBBM: “It is a…
Ben Reeser coming off a lights-out summer, started for the Orange team. I stopped by the first game of University of Illinois’ Orange and Blue series. Stop by The Baseball Zealot photo gallery and see the photos I took. 2B Ryan Hastings takes third on a fly ball. If you want to…
Big news in the local sports section today… a group is in negotiations with the University of Illinois to get the use of Illinois Field for a minor league team. Very exciting news, indeed. From the News-Gazette: “We’re always interested in looking for new markets for a professional baseball franchise,”…
The schedule for Illini’s Orange and Blue series has mostly been set. Sept 28 – 4pm Sept 29 – 10am Sept 30 – 10am Oct 5 – 4pm Oct 6 – TBA This split squad series is a good chance to see the Illinois team in action! In other Illini…
Congrats are in order for University of Illinois’ Joe Bonadonna. He was awarded the Rawlings Silver Glove for his play at second base while playing second base for the Duluth Huskies in the Northwoods League. In addition to his fine work with the glove, Bonadonna broke the league record with…
Throughout the summer the Illini baseball program has been keeping us informed of what’s was happening in the player’s own words with Summer Diamond Notes. I found them very useful and entertaining. Now it turns out they will continue the series with Fall Diamond Notes. Presumably, they will detail how…
Monday was the first day of practice for the University of Illinois baseball team, I showed up to watch and take a few photos. Thanks to Coach Hartleb and the staff for the privilege. I was the only non-team member there so I felt like I had quite an exclusive.…
In their respective collegiate summer leagues, Illini players Ben Reeser and Nick Stockwell won post season awards before heading back to the University of Illinois for classes. Reeser was dubbed Coastal Plain League Defensive Player of the Year after winning a Fayetteville Swampdog team record 8 games with a 1.61…