April 8, 2004
Champaign, Ill. -
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Quick Hits - Illinois Head Coach Itch Jones is seven wins away from his 1,200th career coaching victory. He will be the 14th head coach in the history of Division I baseball to reach that plateau . . . There are only two Illini left - right fielder Vince DiMaria and shortstop Eric Eymann, who have started all 22 games this season . . . Eymann, a sophomore, has started every game Illinois has played during his college career at shortstop - a 75 game streak . . . Sophomore catcher Chris Robinson enters the weekend on a career-high eight-game hitting streak . . . As Illinois searches for a fourth starter for its Big Ten season, 17 of Illinois' 22 games have been started by the threesome of Joe Ziemba, Jimmy Conroy and Ted Rowe. Andy Sigerich (2), Dusty Bensko, Tim Gorksi and Jeff Paarlberg have the other five starts . . . 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.
Welcome To Illinois Field - The Illinois Baseball team open the Big Ten home season this weekend with a four-game Conference series against Michigan State at Illinois Field. The April 9 date for the first home Big Ten game is the latest Illinois has opened a home Conference campaign under Coach Jones and is the latest since 1989, when Augie Garrido's squad opened home Conference play April 9, also against the Spartans.
Illinois is 22-12 against Michigan State under Coach Jones, including 5-5 in the last three years.
Promotions Schedule - A number of promotions are scheduled for this weekend as Illinois welcomes Michigan State to Illinois Field. Illinois and MSU open their series Friday at 6:35, followed by a Saturday doubleheader beginning at 4:05. Sunday's series finale is scheduled for 1:05. All weekend, 2004 schedule magnets will be given out to fans, along with baseball cards for the freshman class. Sunday, April 11 is the first Wiffle Ball Sunday, in which all kids eighth grade and under will be allowed to play wiffle ball on the field with the team immediately following the game. Sunday is also Little League Day, when all kids wearing their Little League uniform will receive free admission.
A Look At The Spartans - Michigan State comes into Illinois Field on a roll, having won 10-straight heading into the weekend, including a Big Ten sweep against Iowa at home last weekend. The Spartans were 4-10 as of March 25 when they opened their home season against Grand Valley State, and MSU has not lost since returning home. This weekend's games will be their first since the winning streak began - MSU is 10-0 at home, 1-9 on the road and 3-1 in neutral site games.
As a team, MSU ranks sixth in the Big Ten in hitting (.288), 10th in pitching (5.98 ERA) and ninth in fielding (.954). Travis Gulick paces Michigan State with a .389 average that includes five home runs and 20 RBI, while Bryan Gale leads all starters with a 1-1 record, 42 innings of work and a 2.36 ERA. Gale has 45 strikeouts against only eight walks.
Ohio State In Review - Illinois' conference campaign did not begin as planned, as the team dropped three of four on its opening weekend at Ohio State. Illinois dropped game one, 5-1, after watching OSU starter Josh Newman strike out 14 Illini while limiting the offense to only seven hits in a nine inning complete game effort. Saturday's doubleheader saw Illinois pitching give up 14 runs in the opener as the Orange and Blue fell, 14-3. Illinois dropped the nightcap, 5-3, on a walk-off home run, before rebounding to grab Sunday's series finale by a 12-4 final.
The weekend series was not without its bright points. Sophomore catcher Chris Robinson smashed three home runs, his first of the season, over the weekend series, tallying a team-high seven RBI after entering the weekend with only one for the season. His home runs came in games one, three and four, and his game three home run tied the game at 3-3 in the top of the final inning, forcing OSU to come back and win the game in the bottom half of the final frame. Robinson finished his weekend at .385 (5-for-13) with three runs, three home runs, seven RBI, 14 total bases and a 1.077 slugging percentage.
Sophomore Eric Eymann continued to break out of an early season funk, hitting a team-high .429 (6-for-14) with a team-leading three doubles and three runs scored. Eymann's overall average climbed 25 points to .313 over the weekend.
Red Hot Robinson - Canadian native Chris Robinson has certainly enjoyed his return to northern weather. Since Illinois played its first game north of the Mason-Dixon line March 30 at Indiana State, Robinson has watched his average jump 86 points, from .211 to .297. Over the seven-game stretch the sophomore is hitting .423 with 11 hits, six runs, eight RBI and four home runs. That's four roundtrippers in seven games, and six of his season-total runs, 11 of his 19 total hits, eight of his nine RBI and all of his season home runs.
Gorski Makes Case To Be Fourth Starter - With the race for the fourth starter in the Big Ten wide open, fifth-year senior Tim Gorski made a solid case for himself when handed the ball to start at Ohio State April 4. After watching his team drop the first three games of the season, Gorski got 12 runs from his offense in the first two innings and went out and threw strikes, throwing eight-plus innings against the Buckeyes to improve to 1-0 on the year. Gorski allowed four runs while scattering nine hits. He struck out four and did not walk a batter. The outing was the longest of Gorski's collegiate career.
Roof Auditions At Frst - Infielder Shawn Roof experienced a first of his career Sunday at Ohio State - a start at first base. The freshman had never played first in his baseball career, but responded with a 3-for-6, 2 run, 2 double, 2 RBI day against the Buckeyes. His hits, runs scored, doubles and RBI were all career highs for the Paducah, Ky., native who had only 15 at bats entering the game. He followed that up with a pair of starts at first against Western Michigan, going 2-for-7 against the Broncos with a double and RBI.
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 .341 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.
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.
