May 2, 2002

Champaign, Ill. - Quick Hits - Illinois' 11-1 start was its best since the 1986 team started 13-1-1 . . . Its 10 game win streak at the start of the season was the longest since 1998 . . . Illinois freshman left fielder Drew Davidson has led off three of Illinois' games with a home run and leads the team with eight home runs overall . . . Davidson has two, two-home run games . . . Illinois has scored five or more runs in an inning nine times this year . . . Junior first baseman Andy Schutzenhofer has now started 155 straight games, or every game except the first of his freshman season . . . That streak is the third-longest in school history, ranking behind only Tim Richardson's 232 straight starts from 1980-83 and Brian McClure's 167 straight from 1994-96 . . . Schutzenhofer has also started 105 straight at first base . . . Other notable consecutive start streaks include senior third baseman Luke Simmons with 109 straight starts at third or DH and junior shortstop T.F. Meagher with 86 straight starts.

Weather Wreaks Havoc with Schedule - To say the least it has been an unseasonable spring for the Illini baseball team. So far this year, Illinois has seen 13 games affected by inclement weather, including the cancellation or postponement of 10 games. Illinois has rescheduled two of those games and has been able to add two games to its schedule, meaning right now Illinois will play 50 games in the regular season, six short of the 56 games allowed by the NCAA.

Davidson Ranks As League's Top Freshman - Illini left fielder Drew Davidson ranks as the top hitting freshman in the Big Ten. Davidson is currently hitting at a .374 clip with seven doubles and a triple to his credit. Davidson is also the top-ranked freshman in several categories, including home runs (8) and slugging (.642).

Gotta Have An Ace - Illini ace Andy Dickinson has started his season just where the Big Ten Pitcher of the Year ended it last year - in dominating fashion. Dickinson is 8-2 on the year with a strikeout to walk ratio of 5.1 (82 K, 16 BB). He has struck out 10 or more in three of his complete game outings this year and the senior ranks among league leaders in wins, innings pitched, ERA, strikeouts and opposing batting average. Dickinson's four complete games this year bring his career total to 12. Game W/L CG IP H R ER K Inning 1st R Allowed UTPA W N 7.0 5 1 1 8 1st L'ville W N 8.2 10 5 5 6 1st Bucknell W Y 11.0 3 1 0 12 7th WSU - N 7.0 10 1 1 8 6th UWM W Y 8.0 5 1 1 10 1st Indiana W Y 7.0 9 4 4 10 4th Purdue L N 7.2 13 6 6 8 2nd Mich. W Y 9.0 4 0 0 6 Shutout Minn. W N 7.0 13 6 3 2 2nd NW L N 5.1 7 7 7 5 4th

Mazurek Settles Into Closers Role - After Josh Lane was moved out of his closers role and into a starting spot, Illinois needed to find another reliable closer. They did against Purdue. Junior righthander Dave Mazurek has stepped capably into the role, saving two games against the Boilers, one against Michigan , one at Eastern Illinois and two at Minnesota. Mazurek has a 1.45 ERA in 18 2/3 innings of work this season. He shas struck out 22 and walked 12 in that span.

Speed on the Bases - Led by 14 stolen bases center fielder Brandon Cashman and 12 from right fielder Joe Parenti, Illinois already has 54 stolen bases, equaling 2001's 54 stolen base total, after only 36 games. The Illini are on pace to steal 98 bases this season. Illinois has not stolen 100 bases as a team since the 1984 team stole 150 in 72 games. The closest Illinois has come to 100 since then was in 1998 when the team swiped 99 bases in 125 attempts. Cashman and Parenti are trailed by T.F. Meagher (10), Patrick Arlis (seven), Drew Davidson (three), Pat Flynn (two) and Brett Wicker, Sean Patrick, Dusty Bensko, Andy Schutzenhofer, Luke Simmons and Vince DiMaria (one each).

Let's Play Nine - Coming into the year it was obvious Illinois preferred nine inning games to seven. Since the Big Ten went to its current format in 1997 (nine inning games on Friday and Sunday with two seven inning games played on Saturday) Illinois has posted a 44-45 (.494) mark in seven inning games compared to a 45-18 (.714) record in nine inning games. The difference is even more marked when you discount Illinois' 1998 Big Ten Championship season - take out those games and Illinois is 30-42 (.414) in seven inning games and 40-16 (.714) in the nine inning affairs. This year Illinois is 4-8 in seven inning Big Ten games and 4-2 in nine inning games.

Home Sweet Home - Illini ace Andy Dickinson has a career 12-3 record pitching at home, with his only losses coming in relief against Ohio State in 1999 and against Purdue and Northwestern in 2002. Dickinson was 3-0 at home in 2000 and 6-0 at Illinois Field last season. He is 3-2 this year at Illinois Field. Dickinson continues a long tradition of Illini aces protecting their home park - Jason Anderson (98-00) posted a career 13-0 record at Illinois Field and Brett Weber (95-98) was 15-3 in his career at home.

Winning Game One - If there's one thing the Illinois baseball team counts on, it's winning game one of its Big Ten series. From 1997-2002, with Big Ten Pitchers of the Year Brett Weber (97-98), Jason Anderson (99-00) and Andy Dickinson (01-02) on the mound, Illinois has won game one 28 of 39 times in conference play. When the Illini got the first win out of the way on Friday, the team has gone on to win 17 of the 28 series, and of the 11 the team has not won, the Orange and Blue split six and lost five. In the 11 series in which Illinois did not win on Friday, the Illini have been unable to come back and win a series, instead splitting five and losing six.

Mazurek Named Big Ten Pitcher of the Week - Illini closer Dave Mazurek was named the Big Ten Pitcher of the Week by the Big Ten Conference April 22 after collecting three saves the week of April 15-21. Mazurek closed out two of Illinois' games at Minnesota in addition to its midweek win over Eastern Illinois to earn the honor. It was Mazurek's first career honor and the third for an Illini pitcher this season.

Dickinson Earns Second Pitcher of the Week Honor - Illini ace Andy Dickinson used only 98 pitches to post his first career shutout, a 1-0 victory in the series opener against Michigan, to earn his second Big Ten Pitcher of the Week honor this season. Dickinson allowed only four hits and struck out six to improve to 6-1 on the year against an offense that would score 26 runs over the next three games. The reigning Big Ten Pitcher of the Year is the first pitcher to earn a second weekly honor this year.

Winning the Close Ones - One thing that helped Illinois jump out to an 11-4 start has been the team's ability to win close ballgames in the later innings. Prior to the start of the Big Ten season, Illinois won two games in extra innings and three more in the team's final at bat. Brandon Cashman has twice played the hero with a game winning RBI in the final inning, while Dusty Bensko, Brett Wicker and Luke Simmons also played the hero during the streak.

Dickinson Named Pitcher of the Week - Andy Dickinson earned Big Ten Pitcher of the Week honors March 19 on the heels of his complete-game win over Bucknell. Dickinson threw 11 complete innings, striking out a career-high 12 while allowing only one unearned run on three hits. It was his second career weekly honor from the Big Ten. He was named Big Ten Pitcher of the Week last March after three-hitting Michigan State to open the Big Ten season.

Defending the Crown - Illini seniors Andy Dickinson and Luke Simmons are both defending Big Ten crowns this season. Dickinson is the defending Big Ten Pitcher of the Year and Simmons won both the Big Ten batting and RBI titles a year ago. Dickinson is the first Big Ten pitcher with a shot at defending his pitcher of the year title since OSU's Justin Fry won the award as a sophomore in 1999. No Big Ten Pitcher of the Year has successfully defended his title in the eight year history of the award, and only one position player, Michigan's Barry Larkin (1984-85), has won back-to-back Player of the Year titles since the award was first handed out in 1982. Simmons is the first Big Ten hitter to defend his batting title since OSU's Jason Trott won the title three-straight years, from 1997-99.

The .300 Streak - Illinois has hit .300 as a team for four straight seasons. The Illini just made it last year, hitting .300 as a team. Illinois also hit .316 in 2000, .338 in 1999 and a school-record .347 in 1998. That '98 batting average ranked ninth in the nation, and the 1999 team's .339 mark was good for 12th-best in the country. Illinois fell just short of having a five-year streak after hitting .299 in 1997.

The Class of 2002 - The fourth-year members of Illinois' Class of 2002 (Andy Dickinson, Justin Olson and Luke Simmons) are attempting to become the fourth-consecutive Illini baseball class to advance to the Big Ten Tournament all fours years of their eligibility. The three classes before them to accomplish the feat ('99, '00, '01) are the first to have done so in school history. The only other senior classes in the Big Ten with a chance to accomplish the same feat of four straight appearances this year are the classes at Minnesota and Ohio State.

Seeking Seven - 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 six Big Ten Tournaments, the longest streak since Minnesota qualified for six-straight tournaments from 1990-95. Last season Illinois made it close, wrapping up the fifth seed on the last weekend of Big Ten play. During the streak, Illinois has won the conference outright once (1998), taken home one tournament title (2000) and finished second twice (1996, 98).

Illini Debuts - Eight players made their Illini debuts in the season-opening series at Texas-Pan American. Two started every game: freshman left fielder Drew Davidson and transfer Brandon Cashman. One, freshman Dusty Bensko, started games two and three at designated hitter and another, transfer Brett Wicker, started game two at second base and appeared in all three games. Freshman James Morris and transfers Josh Lane and Ted Rowe all made it into games out of the bullpen, and catcher Sean Patrick also pinch hit on Friday in his first appearance for Illinois.

Big Ten Career Honors - There are a number of Illini on this year's team who have Big Ten honors under their belts. Andy Dickinson was the 2001 conference Pitcher of the Year and a first-team All-Big Ten selection. The other first-team All-Big Ten selection on the team is first baseman Andy Schutzenhofer, who was voted to that honor in 2000. Others with career Big Ten honors include: Schutzenhofer (second-team All-Big Ten 2001); Luke Simmons (second-team All-Big Ten 1999 and 2000, third-team All-Big Ten 2001); Dickinson (Big Ten Pitcher of the Week 3/26/01); Patrick Arlis (Big Ten Player of the Week (4/2/01).

Wiffle Ball Sundays - Every Sunday during the home season the Illinois baseball players play Wiffle Ball with children eighth grade and under on the field after the game. The tradition, which started two years ago based on an idea from former Illini catcher Jeff Gertz and current third baseman Luke Simmons, was judged one of the best promotions in college baseball by Collegiate Baseball magazine.

Preseason Predictions - Baseball America has picked Illinois to finish third in the Big Ten and advance to the NCAA Regionals as an at-large team. Baseball America picked Ohio State to win the Big Ten and Minnesota to finish ahead of the Illini. In addition, Baseball America picked Illini returning ace Andy Dickinson as a member of its all-conference team, as well as tabbing Dickinson as the pitcher with the best control in the conference. Illini outfield newcomers Drew Davidson (1st) and Brandon Cashman (3rd) were rated two of the top three newcomers to the conference, while Davidson was also named the preseason Freshman of the Year in the conference. Catcher Patrick Arlis was named the seventh-best prospect in the Big Ten along with being named the best defensive catcher in the league and the catcher with the best arm in the Big Ten.

Summer Ball - University of Illinois baseball players compete in some of the most prestigious collegiate summer leagues every year and this coming summer will be no exception. Twenty-three of Illinois' top underclassmen will suit up for various summer leagues as far north as Alaska, east as New Jersey and south as North Carolina. Below is a tentative list of which players are going where. Alaska Baseball League Peninsula Oilers - Tim Gorski, Andy Schutzenhofer. Atlantic Collegiate Baseball League New Jersey Colts - Josh Lane, Joe Parenti. Central Illinois Collegiate League Decatur Blues - Brian Raymond; Quincy Gems - Ted Rowe; Springfield Rifles - Dusty Bensko; Twin City Stars - Dave Mazurek. Great Lakes Summer Collegiate League Lake Erie Monarchs - Vince DiMaria, Trevor Frederickson. Northwoods League Alexandria Beetles - Brandon Cashman; Rochester Honkers - Jimmy Conroy, Pat Flynn, Brett Wicker; Waterloo Bucks - Patrick Arlis, Brian Blomquist, Drew Davidson, Chad Frk; Wausau Woodchucks - James Morris, Sean Patrick. Virginia Valley League Harrisonburg Turks - Craig Lechowicz, T.F. Meagher, Joe Ziemba.

Line of Aces - Over the past four seasons Illinois' aces have accomplished something never before done in the Big Ten - take home three of the four Big Ten Pitcher of the Year awards handed out in that time span. Brett Weber ('98), Jason Anderson ('00) and Andy Dickinson ('01) have raised the bar in defining what it takes to be an Illinois ace. In the years they won the Pitcher of the Year award, the three posted a 16-3 combined record in game one of the Big Ten series' they pitched in. In addition, they led Illinois to two NCAA Regional appearances and posted a 4-1 combined record in the postseason during the year they were named the Pitcher of the Year.

All-Americans in the 1990s - The University of Illinois has had more baseball players (20 in all) earn All-American honors in the past decade than any other school in the Big Ten Conference. Returning Big Ten Pitcher of the Year Andy Dickinson enters this year with two preseason All-American accolades, earning second-team preseason honors from Collegiate Baseball and third-team preseason honors from the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association of America after earning third-team All-America honors following last season. Illinois also has two former freshmen All-Americans on this year's squad - first baseman Andy Schutzenhofer (Baseball America and Collegiate Baseball, 2000) and third baseman Luke Simmons (Collegiate Baseball 1999).

Illini in Pro Ball - Eleven former Illini found their way onto the rosters of profressional baseball teams when spring training broke camp at the beginning of April. They are: Major League Baseball - Darrin Fletcher (Toronto), Scott Spiezio (Anaheim); AAA - Mark Dalesandro (Charlotte/Chicago White Sox), Josh Klimek (Syracuse/Toronto); AA - Chris Basak (Binghampton/New York Mets), Jimmy Journell (New Haven/St. Louis), Aaron Nieckula (Shreveport/San Francisco), Mitch Walk (Shreveport/San Francisco); High A - Jason Anderson (Tampa/New York Yankees), Tim Lavery (Daytona/Chicago Cubs); Low A - Matt Vorwald (Quad Cities/Minnesota).

You're Listening to Fighting Illini Baseball . . . - This season WDWS AM 1400, 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' home games and the majority of road games, starting after the Spring Trip. Games can be heard on the Illini Sports Network and, courtesy of the Fighting Illini Dugout Club, live on the internet at www.fightingillini.com.

This is Illinois Baseball - Illinois Baseball has 20 All-Americans in the last decade - more than any other school in the Big Ten Conference . . . Illinois Baseball is the only Big Ten team to have qualified for the past six Big Ten Tournaments . . . Illinois Baseball's 2,106 all-time wins rank 11th in NCAA Division I Baseball history . . . Illinois Baseball has hit over .300 as a team the past four years, ranking ninth in the country in 1998 with a school-record .347 team batting average, 12th in the country in 1999 with a .338 team batting average, hitting .316 as a team in 2000 and .300 as a team in 2001 . . . Illinois Baseball has had three Big Ten Players of the Year and three Big Ten Pitchers of the Year in the 1990s . . . Illinois Baseball has 70 Academic All-Big Ten selections over the last 11 years . . . Illinois Baseball has 27 Big Ten Championships in the program's history.