April 3, 2003

Champaign, Ill. - Quick Hits - Junior first baseman Andy Schutzenhofer has now started 190 straight games, or every game except the first of his freshman season . . . That streak is the second-longest in school history, ranking behind only Tim Richardson's 232 straight starts from 1980-83 . . . Schutzenhofer has also started 139 straight at first base . . . Senior infielder T.F. Meagher saw his streak of 107 straight starts at shortstop and second base snapped on March 16 vs. Prairie View . . . Schutzenhofer is one of 130 Division I players listed on the preseason Rotary Smith Award watch list - the Rotary Smith Award is presented annually to college baseball's national player of the year.

About Purdue - Purdue enters this weekend's three-game series with an 11-11 overall record and 1-3 mark in the Big Ten after dropping three-of-four last weekend at home against Penn State. Purdue is coached by Doug Schreiber, now in his fifth year with the Boilermakers since coming over from Arizona State in time for the 1999 season. Illinois and Purdue split their Big Ten series a year ago at Illinois Field, with Purdue taking the first two games of the series before Illinois rallied for a pair of wins in the final two games of the series.

At the plate Purdue is led by third baseman Simon Klink and second baseman Nick McIntyre, who are both hitting .372. Klink has 10 doubles to his credit while McIntyre has hit a team-leading five home runs with 19 RBI on the year. Mitch Pruemer starts game one for the Boilermakers. He is 2-2 on the year with a 5.54 ERA in five appearances and five starts.

Last Time Out - Illinois split a midweek series with Western Michigan. Illinois fell behind in game one but staged a five-run eighth inning rally to beat the Broncos, 5-2, on Tuesday. Drew Davidson had the game-winning double and Dusty Bensko added a two-run double of his own to lead the rally. Sophomore starter Brian Blomquist earned the win to improve to 1-0 on the year after throwing a career-high eight complete innings while allowing only two runs while striking out four and not walking a batter.

Illinois fell behind again in game two, and several rallies came up short as the Illini fell to WMU, 13-11, on Wednesday. Andy Schtuzenhofer and Dusty Bensko both had a pair of doubles, and Brandon Cashman and Eric Eymann added solo home runs in the effort.

Illini Catchers Control The Base Paths - Illini catchers Sean Patrick and Chris Robinson have done an impressive job of shutting down opposing running games so far this season. Patrick, who has started 10 of Illinois' games, has thrown out six of the nine runners attempting to steal on him (.667) while Robinson, who has started behind the plate in Illinois' nine other games, has thrown out 5 of the 13 runners (.385) attempting to steal on him. Overall, the catchers have thrown out 50 percent of potential base stealers.

Cashman Quietly Leading Illini Offense - Centerfielder Brandon Cashman may not rank among Illinois' top hitters by average, but the senior is quietly pacing the offense despite his .277 average. Cashman leads the team with five home runs, three more than anyone else on the team, and 18 RBI, three more than any of his teammates.

Dominant Pitching - Through its first 19 games the Illini pitching staff has posted an impressive 3.19 ERA compared to its opponents 6.66 ERA. The Illini ERA received a huge boost while at the UTPA Tournament, when nine Illini pitchers combined to allow only one run over the course of three games. Illinois' back-to-back shutouts over UTPA (4-0) and Prairie View (13-0) were Illinois' first since March 29-31, 2000 when Illinois shutout Ball State, 3-0, on the 29th and Northwestern, 5-0, on the 31st.

New Look Up The Middle - After starting 97 consecutive games at short over the 2001 and '02 seasons, T.F. Meagher moved to second base for the 2003 season to make room for freshman Eric Eymann at short. The move has worked well so far, with Meagher currently hitting .246 and earning all-tournament team honors at the UTPA/Al Ogletree Classic, while Eymann is hitting .317 with a pair of home runs and 12 RBI.

Replacing An Ace - For the first time in five years Illinois entered the 2003 season without a clear cut ace leading the pitching staff. It hasn't mattered in the first 19 games. Josh Lane and Ted Rowe have stepped up with outstanding performances in each of their outings. Rowe owns a 2.56 ERA and 2-2 record over four starts, while Lane is 3-0 with a 2.35 ERA in four starts.

Jones Picks Up 400th Illini Win - Illinois head coach Itch Jones picked up the 400th win of his Illinois career when Illinois beat Eastern Kentucky 9-3 on March 22nd.

Rowe Named Big Ten Pitcher Of The Week - Illini junior righthander Ted Rowe was named the Big Ten Co-Pitcher of the Week by the Conference office after throwing 7 2/3 innings of shutout ball against second-place UTPA to lead Illinois to the Al Ogletree/UTPA Classic tournament title. For his efforts, which included career highs in innings pitched, least amount of runs allowed and strikeouts, Rowe also earned tournament MVP honors.

Illini Debuts - Six Illini have made their collegiate debuts this season - freshmen shortstop Eric Eymann has started every game of the season, freshman catcher Chris Robinson started four of Illinois' first six games behind the plate and freshman outfielder Trevor Huisinga started the first five of six games as either the DH or in the outfield. In addition, freshman infielder Brendon Cody, freshman righthander Jake Toohey and sophomore righthander Jeff Paarlberg have all made their career debuts so far this season.

Five Illini Named To All-Tournament Team - Five Illini, including MVP Ted Rowe, were named to the UTPA/Al Ogletree Classic All-Tournament team last weekend in Edinburg, Texas. In addition to Rowe, righthander Josh Lane, first baseman Andy Schuztenhofer, second baseman T.F. Meagher and third baseman Dusty Bensko were all named to the all-tournament team after Illinois posted a 3-0 record en route to the tournament championship.

Preseason Predictions - Baseball America has weighed in with its annual preseason Big Ten predictions. The publication picks Illinois to finish fourth in the Conference, and places four Illini (first baseman Andy Schutzenhofer, outfielder Brandon Cashman, outfielder Drew Davidson, closer Dave Mazurek) on its all-Conference team. In addition, Davidson was named the Conference's fourth-best pro prospect, and classmate Dusty Bensko was listed as the eighth-best prospect despite not being eligible for this year's draft. Several Illini were also featured in the best tools category. Cashman was named the Conference's best baserunner, the best defensive outfielder and the outfielder with the best arm. Schutzenhofer picked up best defensive first baseman honors, while Bensko was named the infielder 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. Eighteen of Illinois' top underclassmen will suit up for various summer leagues as far north as Alaska, east as Cape Cod and south as North Carolina. Below is a tentative list of which players are going where. Alaska Baseball League Peninsula Oilers - Dusty Bensko, Tim Gorski. Cape Cod Baseball League Harwich Mariners - Drew Davidson. Central Illinois Collegiate League Bluff City Bombers - Emanuel Bishop, Drew Smith; Quincy Gems - Trevor Huisinga, Ted Rowe; Twin City Stars - Joe Ziemba. Coastal Plains League Thomasville Hi-Toms - Reilly Smith. Northwoods League LaCrosse Luggers - Vince DiMaria; Madison Mallards - Joe Parenti, Andy Sigerich; Rochester Honkers - Jimmy Conroy, Jake Toohey; Waterloo Bucks - Brian Blomquist, Eric Eymann, Chad Frk; Wisconsin Woodchucks - James Morris.

Five Years Of Pitching Dominance- In each of the last five years, Illinois Baseball has had a pitcher earn All-American accolates, and Illinois has won three of the last five Big Ten Pitcher of the Year Awards. Those All-Americans (Brett Weber ('98), Jimmy Journell ('99), Jason Anderson ('00) and Andy Dickinson ('01. '02)) have raised the bar in defining what it takes to be an Illinois ace. In the years this group won the Big Ten Pitcher of the Year award (Weber '98, Anderson '00, Dickinson '01), 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 (22 in all) earn All-American honors in the past decade than any other school in the Big Ten Conference. Last season two Illini earned All-America recognition - ace Andy Dickinson was named a third-team All-American by Collegiate Baseball, and left fielder Drew Davidson earned freshman All-America accolades from Collegiate Baseball. Illinois also has one other former freshman All-American on this year's roster: senior first baseman Andy Schutzenhofer earned the honor from both Collegiate Baseball and Baseball America in 2000.

Illini In Pro Ball - Thirteen former Illini found are on the rosters of professional teams heading into spring trainiing this year. They are: Jason Anderson (New York Yankees Major League Roster), Patrick Arlis (Florida Marlins minor league), Chris Basak (New York Mets minor league), Mark Dalesandro (Chicago White Sox minor league), Andy Dickinson (Oakland A's minor league), Jimmy Journell (St. Louis Cardinals 40-man Major League Roster), Josh Klimek (Toronto Blue Jays minor league), Tim Lavery (Pittsburgh Pirates minor league), Aaron Nieckula (San Francisco Giants minor league), Scott Spiezio (Anaheim Angels Major League), Larry Sutton (Boston Red Sox minor league), Matt Vorwald (Minnesota Twins minor league) and Mitch Walk (San Francisco Giants minor league).

This Is Illinois Baseball - Illinois Baseball has 22 All-Americans in the last 11 years - more than any other school in the Big Ten Conference . . . Illinois Baseball's 2,138 all-time wins rank 11th in NCAA Division I Baseball history . . . Illinois Baseball has hit over .300 as a team in four of the past five 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 83 Academic All-Big Ten selections over the last 11 years . . . Illinois Baseball has 27 Big Ten Championships in the program's history.