May 13, 2009

Illinois-Purdue Series Notes

Illinois at Purdue
Lambert Field // West Lafayette, Ind.
May 14 // 3 pm (ct)
May 15 // Noon (ct)
May 16 // Noon (ct)

Series Insider
Illinois (32-16, 15-6) at Purdue (22-23, 9-11)
Live Stats: Gametracker on fightingillini.com
Radio: WDWS AM-1400 (PBP: Dave Loane; Color: Ben Taylor)
Live Audio: Available on fightingillini.com
Series: Illinois leads 150-71-1
Games at Purdue: Illinois leads 65-35-1
Last Year: Purdue won series, 3-1
Streak: L1

Game 1 Probables
Illinois: Phil Haig (LHP, 6-2, 4.48 ERA)
Purdue: Matt Bischoff (RHP, 3-4, 5.44 ERA)

Game 2 Probables
Illinois: Will Strack (RHP, 5-0, 3.40 ERA)
Purdue: Matt Jansen (LHP, 4-5, 6.20 ERA)

Game 3 Probables
Illinois: Bryan Roberts (RHP, 5-3, 6.00 ERA)
Purdue: Matt Morgan (RHP, 4-4, 4.30 ERA)

Illinois is...
...28-4 when leading after the seventh inning
...15-6 when scoring in the first inning
...20-8 when scoring first
...22-4 when out-hitting its opponent
...19-5 when a starter gets the decision
...24-4 when holding an opponent to 5 or fewer runs
...outscoring its opponents 59-14 in the 6th inning
...25-6 when making equal or fewer errors than its opponents
...11-4 in road games

Illini Line Drives
• Illini Post Most Wins Since 2005: Illinois is 32-16 with three games remaining in the regular season, marking the program's most wins since going 33-23-1 in 2005.

• Illinois Slays the Giants: The Fighting Illini have found success against ranked foes in 2009, going 5-5 against ranked opponents with series victories against then-No. 1 LSU and then-No. 23 Minnesota. Illinois dropped a 5-1 contest to then-No. 29 Eastern Illinois on April 14 and lost a series to then-No. 27 Ohio State May 8-10.

• Power Surge Hits Champaign: Illinois has been on a power binge lately, hitting 21 homers in the last 15 games. Illinois also has 32 doubles and 10 triples in that span for a .533 team slugging percentage.

• Incredible Comeback Caps Magical Night: Illinois scored three runs in the bottom of the ninth in the series opener against No. 27 Ohio State on May 8, setting off an incredible celebration on the field and in the stands among the school-record crowd of 5,214. After a pair of Buckeye errors, center fielder Joe Bonadonna drove in two with a single to left-center and left fielder Casey McMurray lined the game-winning RBI single to right as the Illini scored three runs off OSU closer Jake Hale for a 5-4 win.

• Dom Delivers Daily: Third baseman Dominic Altobelli recently ended a 16-game hitting streak with 13 multiple-hit games in that string, raising his batting average 80 points during the course of that hitting streak. He currently has a team-best 25 multiple-hit games, the most by an Illini since Ryan Rogowski's 27 multi-hit games in 2005.

• Illini Collect Weekly Honors: Illinois has had seven Big Ten Player or Pitcher of the Week honors this season, breaking a school record and tying the conference record for the most by a single school in a season.

• Altobelli Attacks Final Month: Senior third baseman Dominic Altobelli has caught fire in his final month with the Illini, hitting .484 in the last 15 games, including an incredible 13-game streak from April 18-May 8 in which he collected multiple hits in each game. He also had a 16-game hitting streak from April 15-May 8. Altobelli has 16 RBIs and 19 runs during the last 15 games, with five homers and nine extra-base hits for a .797 slugging percentage.

• Illinois in National Polls This Year: The Fighting Illini have been ranked six weeks this season in the Collegiate Baseball rankings. The Illini first jumped into the CB poll at No. 21 on March 9, moved to No. 19 on March 16, slipped to No. 25 on March 23 and were No. 26 on March 30 before falling out of the rankings the following week. Illinois reappeared in the polls on April 27 at No. 28 and moved up to No. 25 on May 4.

• Argo Drops Bombs in Bunches: Freshman DH Willie Argo leads Illinois and ranks sixth in the Big Ten with 11 home runs after hitting six in the last 13 games.

• Reeser Returns to Rotation: Senior Ben Reeser returned to the starting rotation on May 2 at Northwestern after missing the Minnesota and Penn State series. He was solid in four innings against the Wildcats, giving up two earned runs on six hits and a walk in 71 pitches. He missed his turn against No. 27 Ohio State because of a stomach virus but returned to pitch in relief in the series finale.

• Strack Does It All: Freshman Will Strack has been quite the jack of all trades this year, pitching well in 12 appearances - six starts and six in relief. Strack has an ERA of 3.48 in 41 1/3 innings as a starter and 3.18 in 11 1/3 innings out of the pen. He has a total ERA of 2.94 on the season.

• Wikoff Proves to Be Pesky: Shortstop Brandon Wikoff was kept off base against No. 29 Eastern Illinois on April 14, the first time all season he hadn't reached base in a game, breaking a streak of 29 games this season and 30 counting the 2008 finale. In 2009, Wikoff has reached base in 47 of 48 games and currently has a 12-game hitting streak.

• Wikoff Won't Go Down Swinging: Brandon Wikoff defies the cliché, as he won't go down swinging. In the latest NCAA stats (5/12), he ranked as the third-toughest hitter to strike out in the nation, whiffing once every 33.5 at bats.

• Wikoff Whips Wildcats: Brandon Wikoff exploded against Northwestern, hitting .692 with a .923 slugging percentage to power the Illini to a sweep of the Wildcats. He drove in 10 RBIs, scored 10 runs and collected seven extra-base hits as Illinois went 4-1 on the week. Wikoff was named the Big Ten Player of the Week, appeared on the College Baseball Foundation's National Honor Roll and was named CollegeBaseballInsider.com's National Player of the Week.

• Wikoff Makes History: Brandon Wikoff became the first Illini to hit for the cycle since 1990 on April 7 when he accomplished the feat against Bradley. He popped out in the first inning before singling in the third, homering in the fourth, doubling in the fifth and tripling in the seventh. Sean Mulligan was the last Illini to hit for the cycle, doing it against Michigan on Feb. 25, 1990.

• Is That Weapon Registered?: Left fielder Casey McMurray collected four outfield assists in Illinois' four games from April 11-15, throwing out two runners at second and two more at home plate. Not to be outdone, right fielder Pete Cappetta hosed two runners at the plate in the series opener against No. 23 Minnesota and center fielder Joe Bonadonna nailed a runner trying to stretch a double into a triple in that same game. For the season, McMurray leads the team with six outfield assists on the season, Cappetta and Bonadonna each have three and Nick Stockwell has two.

• Illini Break Out Bats in Big Ten Play: After scoring only 28 runs in its first seven Big Ten games, Illinois has exploded for exploded for 134 runs in its last 14 conference games or 9.6 runs per game.

• Zerrusen Finds Work: Sophomore pitcher Lee Zerrusen has made the most of his opportunities lately, pitching 29 2/3 innings over 12 appearances in the last 27 games after throwing only two innings in Illinois' first 14 games this year. He's 2-1 with a 5.19 ERA and a save in 26 innings over seven Big Ten appearances.

• M-A-R-T-I-N Spells Relief: Senior pitcher Aaron Martin has taken to his relief role this season after starting for most of his first three years. He's 2-1 with three saves and a 2.32 ERA in 31 innings out of the pen this year, allowing only 24 hits with 25 strikeouts. He's even more impressive in relief in Big Ten games, holding a 1.93 ERA with two saves in 9 1/3 innings, allowing six hits with six strikeouts and a .194 opponent batting average.

• Illini Road Warriors: Illinois has been quite successful on the road this season, going 11-4 while out-scoring opponents 131-88. The Illini also have 43 more hits than their opponents and 11 more stolen bases on the road. Willie Argo and Brandon Wikoff have led the charge offensively, hitting .440 and .424, respectively, while Argo has hit eight homers with a team-high 22 RBIs away from home. Phil Haig is 3-1 with a 1.95 ERA in 37 road innings.

• Pitchers Turn it Around: Illinois currently has a 4.93 staff ERA after finishing 2008 with a staff ERA of 6.44. More impressively, the Illini have a 3.25 ERA in games they have won, allowing just 103 earned runs in 32 games.

• 4 is the Magic Number: The Illini have had seven players collect a total of 10 four-hit games this season, with Brandon Wikoff doing it four times and Casey McMurray, Joe Bonadonna, Dominic Altobelli, Josh Parr, Willie Argo and Pete Cappetta each getting four hits in a game once. Wikoff and Altobelli both had four hits in the series-opener against Indiana, Wikoff had four hits in the second game at No. 1 LSU and also against Bradley on April 7. Parr collected four hits at Texas-Pan American on Feb. 27, Argo had four hits in the series finale at Michigan on April 12, McMurray had four hits at Penn State on April 25 and, most recently, Cappetta had four hits on May 2 at Northwestern.

Illini Travel to Purdue for Final Big Ten Series
Illinois heads to Purdue for the final Big Ten series in an important weekend for both teams. The Illini currently are part of a four-team title race that is separated by only one game, as Illinois and Ohio State both trail first-place Minnesota by a half-game and Indiana is one game behind the Gophers. Meanwhile, Purdue currently holds a 1 1/2-game lead over Michigan for the final spot in the Big Ten Tournament and a 2 1/2-game lead over Penn State.

The Orange and Blue dropped a series last weekend to No. 27 Ohio State, while Purdue took two of three at Michigan State in a series that spanned Saturday-Monday. This weekend's series runs from Thursday to Saturday to provide an extra day of rest before the Big Ten Tournament.

Illinois currently ranks third in the Big Ten in batting average in all games and leads the league in conference games. Purdue ranks fifth and sixth, respectively. The Illini have the fourth-best team ERA in all games and rank sixth in Big Ten play, while the Boilermakers rank eighth and seventh, respectively. But the biggest disparity is in the field, as Illinois leads the league in fielding percentage in all games and Big Ten games, while Purdue ranks ninth in both categories.

Illinois/Purdue Series History
Illinois leads the all-time series against Purdue by a 150-71-1 margin, including a 65-35-1 lead in games played in West Lafayette. But the teams have played fairly evenly in the past three seasons, with Purdue holding an 8-5 lead. Since 2000, the Boilers hold a 21-11 edge in the series, including a 4-0-3 series record over that span. Purdue also ended Illinois' season in the Big Ten Tournaments in 2005 and 2006. The Illini's last series win came in 1999, when Illinois won the final three games of the regular season to sweep a shortened series.

Last Week: Illini Drop First Series Since April 4
Illinois dropped its first Big Ten series since losing two of three games to Indiana on the first weekend of April, a string of four conference series victories, the first time the Illini have won four straight Big Ten series since 2000. The Orange and Blue staged an incredible comeback in the series opener against No. 27 Ohio State, scoring three runs in the bottom of the ninth on back-to-back singles by Joe Bonadonna and Casey McMurray after consecutive errors by the Buckeye infield. That resulted in a 5-4 win that set off a celebration by the Illini and the school-record crowd of 5,214. But Illinois dropped the next two games by scores of 10-7 and 12-7 as OSU took the series win.

Illinois Arms Shoulder Larger Load
Although it was a question mark heading into the season, pitching has been a strong suit for the Fighting Illini in 2009. Ben Reeser is 3-0 with a 2.92 ERA and 44 strikeouts in 49 1/3 innings, and Will Strack is 5-0 with a 3.40 ERA in 55 2/3 innings as a spot starter and key reliever. Meanwhile, Bryan Roberts is 5-3 with 51 strikeouts in 63 innings, and Aaron Martin has allowed eight earned runs in 31 innings of relief work for a 2.32 ERA.

So far, starters have accounted for 58.1 percent of Illinois' innings and have 27 outings of six innings or more. In Big Ten play, starters have accounted for 60.5 percent of innings with 16 outings of 6-plus innings in 21 conference games.

Illini Flip Power Switch in Last Month
After hitting only 15 home runs, 11 triples and 57 doubles in the first 31 games of the year, Illinois' power numbers have exploded recently, with 24 homers, 10 triples and 35 doubles in the last 17 games. Willie Argo and Dominic Altobelli have been two of the main sources, both hitting six homers during that span. Brandon Wikoff also has hit for more power recently with eight doubles, two triples and two homers in the last 17 games. The Illini have an 18-game streak of recording at least one extra-base hit.

The power surge has led to a spike in run production, as the Illini have averaged 8.7 runs over the last 17 games with 12.2 hits per game. Illinois has scored double-digit runs seven times and had double-digit hits 12 times in that span.

Illini Show Great Balance
While Illinois doesn't have many individual players on track to break records this season, the 2009 Illini ballclub has been incredibly balanced both at the plate and on the mound. Through 48 games, eight of the nine Illini who have started at least 35 games have at least 46 hits and seven of those nine have averages over .300. In addition, all nine Illini regulars have scored 26 or more runs and eight Illini have driven in 22-plus runs. On the bump, six pitchers have thrown over 40 innings and nine have made 11 or more appearances. In addition, six different hurlers have at least three wins on the season with only Phil Haig posting six wins.

Reeser, Strack Baffle Hitters
Pitchers Ben Reeser and Will Strack have been stellar this season, with Reeser holding a 2.92 ERA and Strack going 5-0 with a 3.40 ERA. Reeser has missed four starts this season - three with a strained back and one because of food poisoning - but has started three of Illinois' last eight games, and Strack has been incredibly consistent in his freshman campaign, going 25 1/3 innings over three Big Ten starts. Reeser has gone more than seven innings three times and has pitched into or through the ninth twice. Strack has pitched six or more innings in five of his seven starts and also has been a valuable reliever, tossing 14 1/3 innings out of the pen over six appearances.

Illini Strong in the Middle
Illinois has been especially effective during the middle innings so far, outscoring its opponents 177-77 in the fourth, fifth and sixth innings. That has helped offset the Illini's opponents' 115-88 advantage in the late innings.

*Complete game notes available in attached PDF document.