April 30, 2004

Champaign, Ill. -

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Quick Hits - Illinois Head Coach Itch Jones won his 1,200th career game Saturday, April 24 against Indiana at Illinois Field. That makes him the 15th head coach in the history of Division I baseball to reach that plateau and the second this season, Mississippi State's Ron Polk being the other . . . Something will have to give Friday evening, as neither Penn State or Illinois has won the first game of a Big Ten series this year . . . Sunday's game four will start at 11:30 am due to Penn State travel plans . . . Jimmy Conroy is atop the Big Ten with six wins in all games and Tim Gorski leads the league with four wins in conference play . . . ?In Big Ten games, Chris Robinson ranks fourth in the league wtih a .415 average and is tied for second with four home runs . . . A pair of Illini starters - Jimmy Conroy and Tim Gorski - reached career-highs in strikeouts in their respective starts against Michigan State. Gorski K'd seven in the nightcap of Saturday's doubleheader before Conroy one-upped that with 11 K's in the series finale Sunday . . . Dating back to Illinois' March 23 game at Charlotte, Chris Robinson had started at catcher in 24 of the last 25 games, and has caught every inning but five of those 24 games. The only time he has come out of a Big Ten game was April 23 against Indiana, when a foul ball caught him in the throat in the final innings. He was back the next day and caught every inning of the Saturday doubleheader . . . There is only one Illini left - shortstop Eric Eymann, who has started all 37 games this season. Another, second baseman Ryan Hastings, has started all but one game this season . . . Eymann, a sophomore, has started every game Illinois has played during his college career at shortstop - a 90 game streak . . .No. 1 starter Joe Ziemba's 1-6 record is not indicative of how he has pitched this season - he's just getting only 2.0 runs per game to work with from his offense in Big Ten games. . . Illinois plays 25 percent (14/56) of its games this season against teams ranked in the preseason Top 25 . . . In 125 years of intercollegiate competition, Illinois has opened the season with a shutout win 14 times, including this year's 4-0 win over Western Kentucky on Feb. 27. The last time Illinois opened the season with a shutout was in 1984, when the Illini beat Indiana Southeastern 8-0 to open the season on Feb. 26.

Date Added - Illinois has added a date to its schedule. Illinois will play Blackburn College Wednesday, May 5 at 4:05 p.m. at Illinois Field. The game is a make-up for Illinois' game with Illinois State that was rained out April 20.

Penn State Preview - Penn State comes to town with a 20-18 overall record and 9-7 mark in the Big Ten, which puts the Lions in a three-way tie for second place in the Conference standings. Last weekend PSU split with Iowa, dropping the Friday and Sunday games while sweeping the Saturday doubleheader.

Offensively, PSU hits .253 as a team, led by third baseman Scott Gummo's .306 average. Gummo also leads the team in home runs with six and is tied for first on the team with 23 RBI. Mike Milliron is the other .300 hitter on the team, coming in at .303, and Clint Eury is tied with Gummo for the RBI lead at 23.

On the mound PSU has a 4.88 team ERA. Game three starter Aaron Tressler leads the PSU starters with a 3-1 record and 2.75 ERA. First baseman Clint Eury doubles as the team's closer and has four saves to go along with a 2.08 ERA in 13 innings of work.

Promotions Planned - As usual, this weekend features plenty of promotional days at Illinois Field. All weekend long, junior class baseball cards will be handed to fans coming through the gate. Sunday is also Youth Day, and all kids eighth grade and under will receive free admission. Sunday is also baseball day, with the first 100 kids eighth grade and under receiving a baseball courtesy of the Optimist Club. Finally, Sunday is also the third Wiffle Ball Sunday of the year, and all kids eighth grade and under are welcome to stick around after the game and play wiffle ball with the team after the game.

Close Race - Big Ten baseball hit the halfway mark after last weekend's games, and with 16 games out of the way no team has broken away from the pack. In fact, only three games separate the top eight teams in the league, with the leaders (Michigan and Minnesota) at 10-6 and the teams tied for seventh place (including Illinois) at 7-9. With only six teams qualifying for the postseason, the next four weekends will feature plenty of "must-win" match-ups as teams attempt to both move up in the standings and collect as many series wins (with the Big Ten's first tie breaker being head-to-head competition) as they can.

All-Star Catcher - Since the Spring Trip there is no Illini seeing the ball better than catcher Chris Robinson. The current Big Ten Player of the Week is hitting .479 (34-for-71) since the start of the Big Ten season April 2 at Ohio State. In those 20 games he has all six of his home runs, 34 of his 43 total hits and 18 of his 19 total RBI.

Robinson Earns Player Of The Week Honors - Illinois sophomore catcher Chris Robinson earned Big Ten Player of the Week honors April 26 after hitting .688 the week of April 19, including .667 against Indiana. Robinson had four doubles, a home run and seven RBI on the week, including a pair of doubles and home run against the Hooiers. Robinson is currently hitting .415 in the Big Ten (fourth in the league) and is tied for second in the Big Ten with four home runs in conference games.

Jones Wins 1,200 - Illinois Head Coach Itch Jones became just the 15th coach in NCAA Division I history to win 1,200 games April 24 when Illinois defeated Indiana, 3-2, in the nightcap of the Saturday doubleheader. Jones reached the milestone in his 39th year coaching college baseball. Illinois has played two of the other 1,200-win coaches this year - Mississippi State's Ron Polk and Texas Tech's Larry Hays.

Below is a list of the 15 coaches and their all-time records heading into the weekend of April 23. *Augie Garrido, Texas 1468-691-8 Cliff Gustafson, Texas 1427-373-2 *Gene Stephenson, Wichita St. 1429-456-3 *Chuck Hartman, Virginia Tech 1391-744-8 *Larry Hays, Texas Tech 1375-7743-2 Rod Dedeaux, USC 1342-597-16 Bob Bennett, Fresno State 1300-757-8 *Mike Martin, Florida State 1319-442-4 *Larry Cochell, Oklahoma 1294-783-3 Ron Fraser, Miami, Fla. 1267-440-9 Jack Stallings, Ga. Southern 1257-799-10 Jim Dietz, San Diego State 1230-751-12 Al Ogletree, UT-Pan American 1218-711-1 *Ron Polk, Mississippi State 1222-592-2 *Itch Jones, Illinois 1198-715-5 * indicates active coach

Youth Is Served - Illinois' starting line-up is one of its youngest in recent memory, with only three upper classmen occupying a regular position. The infield is made up of two freshmen (Roof 1B, Hastings 2B), two sophomores (Robinson C, Eymann SS) and a junior (Frk 3B) while the outfield features a sophomore (Huisinga CF), junior (Davidson LF) and senior (DiMaria RF). The starting rotation has a little more experience, as it features a trio of seniors (Rowe, Ziemba, Gorski) and a junior (Conroy).

Gorski Makes Cut As Big Ten Starter - With the race for the fourth starter in the Big Ten wide open entering Big Ten, fifth-year senior Tim Gorski grabbed his chance and has firmly entrenched himself in the rotation. Gorski, who watched his team drop the first three games at Ohio State before throwing eight-plus innings against the Buckeyes to improve to 1-0 on the year, followed that performance up with a shutout against Michigan State and win at Michigan that moved him to 3-0 in the Big Ten. Gorski's first career shutout saw his throw a four-hitter with a career-high seven strikeouts in the 3-0 complete game win in the nightcap of Illinois' Saturday doubleheader against the Spartans. He went to 3-0 on the year after escaping with a 5-4 win at Michigan in the third game of that series April 17 and to 4-0 with a 3-2 win over Indiana April 24.

Hastings Fitting Right In - Similar to each of the last five years, there is a freshman making an immediate impact in the Illinois line-up. Mattoon native Ryan Hastings has stepped in at second base, gamely making up for the loss of T.F. Meagher to graduation. Hastings is hitting .320 out of the second slot of the line-up and provides a much-needed left-handed bat between lead-off man Vince DiMaria and the heart of the Illini order.

Gorski Earns Big Ten Co-Pitcher Of The Week Honors - Illinois senior righthander Tim Gorski has been named the Big Ten Co-Pitcher of the Week, the Big Ten Conference announced today. Gorski earns the honor on the heels of his first career shutout, a 3-0 win over Michigan State, in the nightcap of the Saturday doubleheader at Illinois Field April 10.

Gorski tossed a seven inning complete game four-hitter, striking out a career-best seven MSU batters. The Lindenhurst, Ill., native snapped MSU's 12-game win streak and handed the Spartans their first loss this year in Conference play after they had opened the season 6-0 in the Big Ten. Gorski, 2-0 overall with a 3.21 ERA over seven appearances and two starts, owns a team-best 2-0 record in the Big Ten. He has a 1.80 conference ERA, the lowest of the Illinois starters, and has 11 conference K's against only one walk in 15 innings of work in the Big Ten.

Ziemba Flirts With No-Hitter - Illini senior righthander Joe Ziemba flirted with a no-hitter in his start against South Florida March 7, tossing eight innings of no-hit ball before losing his bid to become the first Illini pitcher to throw a no-hitter since 1985 in the ninth inning. He allowed back-to-back doubles to open the inning before being pulled in favor of James Morris. Illinois went on to win the game 8-2 and Ziemba improved his record to 1-1 on the year. Ziemba's final pitching line was as follows: 8+ IP, 2 hits, 2 runs (earned), 3 walks and 5 strikeouts.

Rowe Named Big Ten Pitcher Of The Week - Illini senior righthander Ted Rowe earned Big Ten Pitcher of the Week honors March 2 after throwing a no-hitter through five and a one-hitter through seven in Illinois' 4-0 Opening Day win over Western Kentucky. He struck out five and walked only one to earn his second career Big Ten weekly award.

Back To Back - Illinois posted back-to-back shutouts against Western Kentucky, 4-0 and 10-0, to open the 2004 campaign. The last time Illinois posted two-straight shutous was last year at the UTPA Al Ogletree Classic, when Illinois beat UTPA 4-0 and Prairie View 13-0 on consecutive days (March 15-16). The last time Illinois posted two-straight shutouts against the same team was April 4, 1998 when the Illini shutout Northwestern 8-0 on both sides of a doubleheader, and the last time the Illini opened the season with a pair of shutouts was in 1907, when Illinois beat Wabash 13-0 (4/17) and Chicago 10-0 (4/20).

Illini Debuts - Eight athletes made their debuts in Illinois uniforms at the Mississippi State Challenge, including freshman Ryan Hastings (2B) and sophomore Ryan Rogowski (CF), who each started three games. Besides those two, infielders Shawn Roof and J.R. Kyes, catchers Jeff Meyer and Jim Sharwarko and pitchers Brandon Murphy and Jonathan Smiley all saw their first action for the Orange and Blue. Two more Illini - lefthander Aaron Saving and outfielder Rob Sullivan, made their career debuts while on the Spring Trip.

Preseason Predictions - The national publications have weighed in, and Illinois is predicted to finish among the upper division of the Big Ten in 2004. Baseball America picked the Illini to finish fourth in the conference, behind Minnesota, Ohio State and Michigan. Two Illini, left fielder Drew Davidson and shortstop Eric Eymann, were named to the preseason All-Conference team by Baseball America, while the publication also tabbed Eymann as the league's best defensive shortstop. Sophomore Chris Robinson, despite not being eligible for the draft this year, was listed as the No. 8 prospect in the conference.

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. Sixteen of Illinois' top underclassmen will suit up for various summer leagues across the country. Below is a tentative list of which players are going where. Cape Cod Baseball League - Drew Davidson (Harwich), Eric Eymann (Harwich), Chris Robinson (Hyannis). Central Illinois Collegiate League - Trevor Huisinga (Quincy), Jeff Meyer (Springfield), Shawn Roof (Quincy), Rob Sullivan (Twin Cities). Coastal Plains League - Dusty Bensko (Wilmington). Northwoods League - Emanuel Bishop (Mankato), Jimmy Conroy (Rochester), Chad Frk (Madison), Ryan Hastings (Waterloo), J.R. Kyes (LaCrosse), Brandon Murphy (Waterloo), Jeff Paarlberg (Rochester), Ryan Rogowski (Madison).

Illini Ink Four In Early Signing Period - The University of Illinois Baseball team signed four student-athletes to national letters of intent during the fall signing period. Illinois welcomes a class that includes three high school seniors and a junior college sophomore, all of whom will join the Illini program next fall. The group is made up of three pitchers and one infielder. The class includes infielder Joe Bonadonna (Buffalo Grove, Ill./Stevenson), lefthander Blake Hopkins (St. Charles, Mo./Francis Howell), righthander Scott Shaw (Gurnee, Ill./Warren Township) and righthander Matt Whitmore (Evansville, Ind./Central/John A. Logan C.C.).

Six Years Of Pitching Dominance- In five of the last six years, Illinois Baseball has had a pitcher earn All-American accolates, and Illinois has won three of the last six 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.

Illini In Pro Ball - Thirteen former Illini are on the rosters of professional teams heading into Spring Training this year. They are: Jason Anderson?(New York Mets), Patrick Arlis (Florida Marlins minor league), Chris Basak (New York Mets minor league), Brandon Cashman (Texas Rangers minor league), Andy Dickinson (Oakland A's minor league), Jimmy Journell?(St.?Louis Cardinals), Dave Mazurek (Texas Rangers minor league), Justin Olson (Minnesota Twins minor league), Sean Patrick (Baltimore Orioles minor league), Andy Schutzenhofer (St. Louis Cardinals minor leaue), Scott Spiezio?(Seattle Mariners), Matt Vorwald (Minnesota Twins minor league) and Mitch Walk (San Francisco Giants minor league).

This Is Illinois Baseball - Illinois Baseball has 23 All-Americans in the last 12 years - including 2003 Freshman All-American Eric Eymann . . . The 2004 Illini squad features two former Freshman All-American: Eymann and outfielder Drew Davidson (2002) . . . Illinois Baseball's 2,165 all-time wins rank 12th in NCAA Division I Baseball history . . . Illinois Baseball has hit over .300 as a team in five of the past six years . . . 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 91 Academic All-Big?Ten?selections over the last 12 years . . . Illinois Baseball has 27 Big Ten Championships in the program's history.