Illini Head To Florida
March 9, 2000 | Baseball
March 9, 2000
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. - The University of Illinois baseball team is off to its best start since 1988 (which makes it the best in the Itch Jones era) in 2000. Illinois' 5-1 mark betters last year's 4-2 record after six games for the record start for any Itch Jones-coached team at Illinois.
Illinois Wins Two of Three from No. 3 Houston
For the first time in the Itch Jones era at Illinois, the Illini won a series from a team ranked in the nation's top 10 by taking the University of Houston, two games to one, this weekend in Houston. The wins improve Illinois' record against ranked teams to 2-1 on the season.
Vorwald Finds Success as Closer
Illinois sophomore right-hander Matt Vorwald, a starter recovering from an elbow injury, is thriving as Illinois' closer. In the four games that he's closed, Vorwald has earned two wins and a save. He has surrendered only three runs while striking out six.
Newcomers Find Their Way into Line-up
A number of Illinois newcomers are seeing significant playing time. Freshman Joe Ziemba has started game three of each of Illinois' first two series. He earned his first career win over No. 3 Houston and has an ERA of 4.50. Offensively, freshman Andy Schutzenhofer is the team's leading hitter (.421) out of the DH slot, and fellow freshman Joe Parenti, an outfielder, is the team's second-leading hitter with a .417 average. Other newcomers making contributions include outfielder/first baseman Brady Ballard and pitchers Derek Throneburg and Ryan Kvasnicka.
#23 Illinois (5-1) at jacksonville, Fla. spring break
Fri. March 10-Sat. March 18, 2000
University of North Florida
probable starting line-up
illinois
| C | Jeff Gertz (Jr., 6-2, 225) | .375, 0 HR, 11 RBI |
| 1B | Luke Simmons (So., 6-0, 210) | .346, 2 HR, 7 RBI |
| 2B | D.J. Svihlik (Sr., 5-11, 180) | .357, 0 HR, 4 RBI |
| SS | Chris Basak (Jr., 6-2, 185) | .321, 1 HR, 7 RBI |
| 3B | Craig Marquie (Sr., 6-2, 195) | 273, 1 HR, 6 RBI |
| RF | Brady Ballard (Jr., 6-1, 185) | .364, 0 HR, 4 RBI |
| CF | Creston Whitaker (Jr., 5-10, 165) | 400, 0 HR, 7 RBI |
| LF | Rob Fischer (Jr., 6-3, 215) OR | .250, 2 HR, 5 RBI |
| Joe Parenti (Fr., 6-3, 192) | .417, 0 HR, 4 RBI | |
| DH | Andy Schutzenhofer (Fr., 6-0, 190) | .421, 0 HR, 7 RBI |
| RHP | Jason Anderson (Jr., 6-0, 172) | 1-0, 4.97 ERA, 10 K |
| RHP | Justin Olson (So., 6-3, 206) | 0-1, 6.43 ERA, 5 K |
| RHP | Joe Ziemba (Fr., 6-1, 195) | 1-0, 4.50 ERA, 9 K |
Returning Offensive Production
The Illinois offense that has been the best in the Big Ten for the past two years should be just as strong this season. Returning starters Craig Marquie (3B), D.J. Svihlik (2B), Chris Basak (SS), Luke Simmons (1B) and Jeff Gertz (C) represent over 50 percent of 1999's hits, runs, RBI, home runs and walks.
Anderson Anchors Pitching Corps
Right-hander Jason Anderson, a second-team preseason All-American, returns to Illinois for his junior campaign in 2000. The Danville, Ill., native is beginning his third year as a mainstay in the Illini rotation and second as the staff ace. He has a 16-2 career record and he was 9-2 a year ago. The 1999 first-team All-Big Ten selection ranks fourth on Illinois' career winning percentage list and needs only three wins to break into Illinois' career wins list.
Seniors Chase Offensive Records
Jason Anderson isn't the only Illini entering the 2000 campaign with preseason accolades. Craig Marquie and D.J. Svihlik, Illinois' senior leaders in the infield, have no intentions of letting their senior seasons turn into disappointments. Svihlik, a two-time All-American and the 1998 Big Ten Player of the Year, enters the 2000 season among Illinois' career leaders in batting average (9th) and home runs (34). He needs 15 home runs this year to break the Illinois career mark of 48. Marquie, a two-time All-Big Ten selection, ranks among the Illinois career leaders in batting average (8th), hits (10th), runs (9th), home runs (10th), total bases (7th) and RBI (6th).
Current Hitting Streaks
The following is a list of current hitting streaks and the date they began:
| Patrick Arlis | 0 games |
| Brady Ballard | 2 games (3/4/00) |
| Chris Basak | 1 game (3/5/00) |
| Greg Belcher | 0 games |
| Rob Fischer | 1 game (3/4/00) |
| Jeff Gertz | 0 games |
| Ryan Lawrence | 0 games |
| Craig Marquie | 4 games (2/27/00) |
| T.F. Meagher | 0 games |
| Joe Parenti | 3 games (2/27/00) |
| Andy Schutzenhofer | 1 game (3/5/00) |
| Luke Simmons | 2 games (3/4/00) |
| D.J. Svihlik | 3 games (3/3/00) |
| Creston Whitaker | 6 games (2/25/00) |
Here's A Little Trivia
The last time Illinois opened its season with consecutive three-game road trips to Texas-Pan American and Houston was in 1998, when the team went on to run away with the Big Ten Championship while posting a 19-5 conference mark. Overall, Illinois was 42-21 in 1998 and advanced to the final game of the NCAA South I Regional in Gainesville, Fla. While Illinois hopes to repeat the success of 1998, the team hopes to start 2000 better - Illinois returned from its first two trips with an 0-6 record in 1998.
All-Americans in the 1990s
The University of Illinois has had more baseball players (17 in all) earn All-American honors in the past decade than any other school in the Big Ten Conference. Illinois has two All-Americans on this year's squad - right-hander Jason Anderson and second baseman D.J. Svihlik. First baseman Luke Simmons was also named a freshman All-American last season.
Big Ten Tournament Streak
The University of Illinois has the longest current streak of appearances in the Big Ten Tournament of any team in the conference. Illinois has been in the last four Big Ten Tournaments, the first team in conference to put together a four-year streak since both Ohio State and Minnesota appeared in the postseason tournament from 1992-95. And with the tournament expanding to six teams this year, Illinois has a better chance than ever to make it five-straight.
Radio Schedule
This season WDWS, the flagship station of Fighting Illini athletics, will broadcast almost 40 Illinois baseball regular season games, in addition to all postseason action. The station will carry all of Illinois' games, both at home and on the road, starting after the Spring Trip. Games WDWS will not carry after the Spring Trip are games at Southern Illinois, Bradley and Eastern Illinois. Big Ten games played on Friday on the road that start before 4 p.m. central time will be picked up in progress at 4 p.m. Dave Loane, the voice of Fighting Illini baseball, volleyball and women's basketball will call the action all season. WDWS broadcasts of Illinois baseball games can be heard live on the internet at www.fightingillini.com.
Promotional Dates
The Univeristy of Illinois has announced a number of promotional dates for the 2000 baseball season. All season long, any fan eighth grade and under who comes to a game in a baseball uniform will get in free when accompanied by a paying adult. Following is a list of the rest of the 2000 season promotions.
| March 21 | Magnetic Schedule Card Day |
| March 24 | Helmet Day* |
| April 8 | Student Day |
| Baseball Card Day* | |
| April 29 | Youth Day |
| Bat Day* |
Night Games
The 2000 season will mark the first in which Illinois plays a full schedule under the Illinois Field lights. The lights, which were unveiled at the end of the 1999 campaign, will allow Illinois to play night games after April 1. Illinois is the third Big Ten school, along with Minnesota and Ohio State, to have lights on its home field.
This is Illinois Baseball
Illinois Baseball has 17 All-Americans in the last decade - more than any other school in the Big Ten Conference . . . Illinois Baseball's last two senior classes have set records for Big Ten wins by a single class . . . Illinois Baseball is the only Big Ten team to have qualified for the past four Big Ten Tournaments . . . Illinois Baseball's 2,041 all-time wins rank 12th in NCAA Division I Baseball history . . . Illinois Baseball has led the Big Ten in offense the past two years, ranking ninth in the country in 1998 with a school-record .347 team batting average abd 12th in the country in 1999 with a .338 team batting average . . . Illinois Baseball has had three Big Ten Players of the Year and one Big Ten Pitcher of the Year in the 1990s . . . Illinois Baseball has 52 Academic All-Big Ten selections over the last 10 years . . . Illinois Baseball has 27 Big Ten Championships in the program's history.
Illinois Head Coach Itch Jones
An American Baseball Coaches Association Hall of Fame inductee, Richard ?Itch? Jones enters his 10th season as head coach of the Fighting Illini baseball program in 2000. His ninth season at Illinois was marked with the team's fourth-straight top-four finish in the Big Ten Conference and yet another trip to the Big Ten Tournament.
On April 8, 1998 Jones became only the 18th coach in NCAA Division I baseball history to win 1,000 games in his career when Illinois defeated Western Illinois, 18-2. He is the tenth winningest active NCAA Division I coach and his career record currently stands at 1,056-600-5 (.638). Jones has won nine conference titles and his teams have advanced to 11 NCAA Regionals and three College Worlds Series'. He has send 20 players into professional baseball in the last nine years alone and Jones has produced 18 major leaguers over his career, including former Toronto Blue Jays pitcher Dave Stieb, Arizona Diamondbacks' outfielder Steve Finley and Anaheim Angels second baseman Scott Spiezio.
Career Coaching Record
| At MacMurray (1966-68) | 28-33 (.459) | ||
| At SIU (1970-1990) | 738-345-5 (.681) | ||
| At Illinois (1991-) | 291-222 (.554) | ||
| 1991 Illinois | 26-30 | 7th-Big Ten | |
| 1992 Illinois | 36-20 | 3rd-Big Ten | |
| 1993 Illinois | 32-23 | 8th-Big Ten | |
| 1994 Illinois | 26-26 | 7th-Big Ten | |
| 1995 Illinois | 25-31 | 5th-Big Ten | |
| 1996 Illinois | 37-22 | 2nd-Big Ten | |
| 1997 Illinois | 32-27 | 3rd-Big Ten | |
| 1998 Illinois | 42-21 | 1st-Big Ten | NCAA Regionals (3-2) |
| 1999 Illinois | 34-22 | 3rd-Big Ten | |
| In NCAA Postseason (12 years) | 31-25 (.554) | ||
| CAREER TOTAL (33 years) | 1,057-600-5 (.638) |
Career Active Coaches List (as of 1999)
| Coach | School | W-L-T | Pct. | |
| Chuck Hartman | Virginia Tech | 1,242-626-5 | .665 | |
| Auggie Garrido | Texas | 1,238-601-8 | .673 | |
| Gene Stephenson | Wichita State | 1,224-360-3 | .773 | |
| Larry Hays | Texas Tech | 1,199-640-2 | .652 | |
| Bob Bennet | Fresno State | 1,190-688-2 | .634 | |
| Larry Cochell | Oklahoma | 1,145-656-2 | .636 | |
| Jim Dietz | San Diego St. | 1,120-673-18 | .625 | |
| Mike Martin | Florida State | 1,079-364-3 | .748 | |
| Norm DeBryn | Arkansas | 1,075-565-6 | .655 | |
| itch Jones | Illinois | 1,056-600-5 | .638 | |
| Les Marakami | Hawaii | 1,051-542-4 | .660 | |
| Bob Hannah | Delaware | 1,016-444-6 | .696 | |
| Gary Adams | UCLA | 1,015-744-12 | .577 | |
| Mark Marquess | Stanford | 945-482-5 | .662 | |
| Bob Morgan | Indiana | 901-426-5 | .679 | |
| James Wilson | Temple | 901-652-24 | .580 | |
| Bob Miller | Detroit | 880-723-2 | .549 | |
| Jim Ward | E. Kentucky | 884-605-5 | .594 | |
| Bob Warn | Indiana State | 871-541-9 | .617 |
National Baseball Polls
Collegiate Baseball (3/6)
| 1. Florida State | 18-2 |
| 2. North Carolina | 16-0 |
| 3. Stanford | 14-5 |
| 4. Texas | 16-4 |
| 5. Southern California | 11-3 |
| 6. Auburn | 18-3 |
| 7. Cal State Fullerton | 7-5 |
| 8. Clemson | 11-2 |
| 9. Alabama | 12-5 |
| 10. Miami, Fla. | 14-6 |
| 11. South Carolina | 15-0 |
| 12. Baylor | 15-3 |
| 13. Wichita State | 4-1 |
| 14. Long Beach State | 11-4 |
| 15. Arizona State | 18-4 |
| 16. Louisiana State | 10-6 |
| 17. Houston | 12-6 |
| 18. Georgia Tech | 8-5 |
| 19. Louisiana-Lafayette | 15-1 |
| 20. Kentucky | 13-0 |
| 21. East Carolina | 12-3 |
| 22. Fresno State | 14-4 |
| 23. Illinois | 5-1 |
| 24. Florida Atlantic | 12-5 |
| 25. Tennessee | 16-4 |
| 26. Mississippi State | 9-2 |
| 27. Loyola Marymount | 11-5 |
| 28. Notre Dame | 4-2 |
| 29. Wake Forest | 10-3 |
| 30. Florida International | 18-2 |
Baseball America (3/6)
| 1. Florida State | 18-2 |
| 2. Stanford | 14-5 |
| 3. Cal State Fullerton | 7-5 |
| 4. Baylor | 15-3 |
| 5. Southern California | 11-3 |
| 6. Texas | 16-4 |
| 7. North Carolina | 16-0 |
| 8. Alabama | 12-5 |
| 9. Auburn | 18-3 |
| 10. Houston | 12-6 |
| 11. Louisiana State | 10-6 |
| 12. South Carolina | 15-0 |
| 13. Arizona State | 18-4 |
| 14. Miami | 14-6 |
| 15. Wichita State | 4-1 |
| 16. Clemson | 11-2 |
| 17. Long Beach State | 11-4 |
| 18. Louisiana-Lafayette | 15-1 |
| 19. Fresno State | 14-4 |
| 20. Wake Forest | 10-3 |
| 21. Georgia Tech | 8-5 |
| 22. Nevada | 13-7 |
| 23. East Carolina | 12-3 |
| 24. Kentucky | 13-0 |
| 25. Loyola Marymount | 11-5 |
Illinois' Record When . . .
| Overall | 5-1 | |
| At home | 0-0 | |
| On the road | 5-1 | |
| At neutral site | 0-0 | |
| vs. the Big Ten | 0-0 | |
| vs. nonconference | 5-1 | |
| in postseason | 0-0 | |
| in the afternoon | 4-0 | |
| at night | 1-1 | |
| when Illinois scores first | 4-0 | |
| when opponent scores first | 1-1 | |
| when Illinois scores in the 1st | 3-0 | |
| when opponent scores in the 1st | 2-0 | |
| record in 7-inning games | 0-0 | |
| record in 9-inning games | 4-1 | |
| record in extra-inning games | 1-0 | |
| record in rain shortened games | 0-0 | |
| game decided by one run | 2-0 | |
| by two runs | 1-0 | |
| by three runs | 0-0 | |
| by four runs | 0-0 | |
| by five-nine runs | 1-1 | |
| by 10+ runs | 1-0 | |
| record in game one of series | 2-0 | |
| record in game two of series | 1-1 | |
| record in game three of series | 2-0 | |
| record in game four of series | 0-0 | |
| record in first game of DH | 0-0 | |
| record in second game of DH | 0-0 | |
| record vs. ranked teams | 2-1 | |
| record on Monday | 0-0 | |
| record on Tuesday | 0-0 | |
| record on Wednesday | 0-0 | |
| record on Thursday | 0-0 | |
| record on Friday | 2-0 | |
| record on Saturday | 1-1 | |
| record on Sunday | 2-0 |
