May 13, 2010

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. - In anticipation of the Celebration of 130 Years of Illinois Baseball during the Purdue series May 14-16, FightingIllini.com will be showcasing a series of weekly features that look back at the history of the oldest sport on the Illinois campus. Illinois baseball began in the fall of 1879 and is one of the most storied programs on campus. The Fighting Illini have won 28 Big Ten titles and have the seventh-most Major League players all-time among college programs with 70, according to Baseball Almanac. Each week leading up to the celebration weekend, Illini fans will have a chance to learn more about each decade since the 1940s - the teams, the players and the coaches.

While the 2000s only saw the Illini reach the NCAA Tournament twice, it did not lack for its fair share of notable names and games. The decade began with one of the most impressive runs through the Big Ten Tournament that any Illinois team has ever made as the Orange and Blue pitching staff combined to pitch five complete games to win the tournament. Jason Anderson celebrated being named Big Ten Pitcher of the Year by tossing a tournament-record 12-inning complete game despite a 35-minute rain delay in the fifth inning. The Illini came through with four runs in the top of the 12th to advance to face Penn State. Illinois led 4-0 after two innings of that game and held on for a 5-3 win behind the arm of Drew Dickinson, who struck out six in a complete-game victory.

The Illini fell to the Nittany Lions the next day as PSU held off elimination with a 6-0 win despite a complete-game effort from Joe Sprengard. But Illinois bounced back with a 4-0 win over Ohio State thanks to a five-hitter from Ryan Kvasnicka to advance to a championship rematch with PSU. And who better to return for the title game than Anderson, who threw his second complete game of the tournament on just three days' rest to lift the Illini to a 5-3 win and a berth in the NCAA Tournament.

"We had some guys who really stepped up in the tournament," Anderson said. "The offense got us some early leads and we knew those guys could keep us in it. With the staff we had, I knew in the first game of the tournament that I didn't have to worry about coming back quickly, so I could just pitch my game."

Anderson was a first-team All-American by the American Baseball Coaches Association and a first-team All-Big Ten selection. Joining him on the All-Big Ten first team was freshman first baseman Andy Schutzenhofer, who also earned Freshman All-America honors by Baseball America and Collegiate Baseball. Anderson also became the most recent Illini baseball player to earn the Dike Eddleman Male Athlete of the Year, given to the top male athlete on campus each year.

Anderson and shortstop Chris Basak were taken in the Major League Baseball Draft that year, with Basak being selected in the sixth round and Anderson being taken in the tenth round. Basak played nine years in professional baseball, with a pair of short call-ups to the New York Yankees' big-league club in 2007. Anderson reached the Majors in 2003 with the Yankees before being traded to the New York Mets in July of that year. He also made big-league appearances with the Cleveland Indians in 2004 and the Yankees once again in 2005. He currently is pitching with the Philadelphia Phillies' double-A club, the Reading Phillies.

Although the 2001 team ended up 29-28, that didn't stop Dickinson from becoming the Big Ten Pitcher of the Year and an All-American that season with his 11-1 record and 3.51 ERA to go along with 99 strikeouts. Following that season, pitcher Matt Vorwald was drafted in the seventh round by the Minnesota Twins.

Dickinson starred again in 2002, going 11-2 with a 2.83 ERA, six complete games and a career-best 107 strikeouts in 114 2/3 innings, to earn first-team All-Big Ten honors. He remains tied with Mark Dressen for the career wins record (32) and is third in both career innings pitched and strikeouts. He also ranks in the top 10 in school history in career and season winning percentage, career ERA, career appearances and season innings pitched and strikeouts. In 2002, outfielder Drew Davidson also earned Freshman All-America honors after hitting a team-best .341 and 10 home runs, the fifth-most by a freshman in school history.

After tough campaigns in 2003 and 2004, the 2005 club scuffled to start the season but used a seven-game winning streak that included a sweep of Ohio State to start the Big Ten season to catapult itself to a Big Ten title. The Illini led the Big Ten race from start to finish after winning three of its first four series and splitting the fourth. That team swept Northwestern and outscored the Wildcats by a 59-18 margin over four games, the most runs Illinois has ever scored in a Big Ten series.

"We went to Arlington, Texas, the third weekend of the year and that was kind of a defining moment of the season when we won a series against Texas-Arlington, who had beaten some ranked teams earlier in the year," 2005 Illini catcher Chris Robinson said. "That kind of opened our eyes to see how good we could be and how good we were. Once we started rolling, it kind of all came together that weekend against Northwestern when we kind of beat up on them."

Former Illini Chris Robinson helped the Illini to a 2005 Big Ten championship.

That team cruised to a Big Ten title as Drew Davidson won Big Ten Player of the Year and All-American honors by hitting .322 with 14 home runs and 53 RBIs. First baseman Dusty Bensko was the Big Ten home run and RBI champion with nine and 40, respectively, in conference games, and five Illini were named first-team All-Big Ten: Bensko, Davidson, Robinson, left fielder Ryan Rogowski and pitcher Brian Blomquist. Bensko and second baseman J.R. Kyes each earned National Hitter of the Week honors from the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association during the season and head coach Richard "Itch" Jones was named Big Ten Coach of the Year. He announced his retirement following the season, ending a 15-year tenure at the helm of the Illini.

Robinson became the highest-drafted position player in school history when the Detroit Tigers selected him in the third round of the 2005 MLB Draft, pitcher Jimmy Conroy was a 19th-round selection by the Yankees, Davidson was drafted in the 22nd round, pitcher James Morris was taken in the 23rd round and shortstop Toby Gardenhire was selected in the 41st round by the Minnesota Twins, which his father, Ron, manages. Bensko and Rogowski also signed free-agent contracts. Robinson currently plays for the triple-A Iowa Cubs and Gardenhire is with the double-A New Britain Rock Cats in the Twins' farm system.

"We were a real close group," Robinson said. "The reason everyone had a career year was we fed off each other. There aren't a whole lot of memories that didn't involve us goofing around together. I think there were six or seven of us who played professionally and we just fed off each other.

Robinson also started a trend for the Illini as he opened the door to Canadian recruiting. Since his time on campus, the last two starting catchers for Illinois have been from Canada in Lars Davis and Aaron Johnson, and Kelly Norris-Jones will replace Johnson as the lone Canadian on next year's Illini squad.

"Coach Snider and Coach Hartleb came up and recruited me late after their Scout Day in September because it looked like Pat Arlis was going to get drafted that year," Robinson said. "I signed hoping that Sean (Patrick) or Pat would sign, or I'd be stuck behind two senior guys.

"I think it's opened the eyes of our coaching staff that the Canadians can play a little bit," Robinson said. "I know Hartleb and Snider do such a great job of recruiting some of the best guys in Canada because they've realized there's a good pool of players up there."

While the 2006 season didn't end with a Big Ten title, it wasn't short on drama as the Illini ended up playing 14 one-run games that year. A 4-3 win at Michigan State on the next-to-last day of the season gave Illinois the chance to reach the Big Ten Tournament with Blomquist, who had struggled all year, taking the ball on Sunday. He pitched a gem, holding MSU to only two runs and first baseman Dave Schultz homered twice to lift the Illini into the postseason.

The 2007 campaign was Lars Davis' breakout year as he hit .400 - the first Illini to top the .400 mark in a season since 1996 - and smashed 13 homers. His 90 hits are second-most on the single-season record list and he was an All-American in addition to being the Big Ten Player of the Year. He was drafted in the third round of that year's MLB Draft by the Colorado Rockies and remains in their minor-league system. Shortstop Shawn Roof also was drafted that year, being picked in the 33rd round by the Detroit Tigers.

The end of the 2007 regular season also had some fireworks as Illinois needed a three-run homer by Nick Stockwell and two bombs by Davis to overcome a 7-0 deficit to MSU and beat the Spartans 8-7 on the season's final day to reach the Big Ten Tournament. That year, Roof broke the school record for stolen bases with 40 and for hit by pitches with 22.

Former Illini Kyle Hudson shares the school single-season stolen bases record with Shawn Roof.

Center fielder Kyle Hudson stole the show in 2008, hitting .398 and tying Roof's school record of 40 steals. For his efforts, he was named a first-team All-Big Ten selection and an All-American by the ABCA. Freshman left fielder Casey McMurray also was named a Freshman All-American by Collegiate Baseball after hitting .331. Hudson was a fourth-round pick by the Baltimore Orioles in the 2008 MLB Draft and pitcher Scott Shaw was a 13th-round selection by the New York Mets. Hudson currently is at high-A Frederick, while Shaw is pitching for the double-A Binghamton Mets.

In 2009, the Illini started the season 17-5 - including a series win at No. 1 and eventual national champion LSU - but went only 17-15 the rest of the way to finish fourth in the Big Ten and qualify for the Big Ten Tournament for the fifth-straight year. One of the highlights of the year was a 5-4 win over Ohio State on May 8 in front of a school-record 5,214 fans. The Illini trailed the Buckeyes 4-2 heading to the bottom of the ninth, with OSU sending Jake Hale, the league's best closer, to the hill. But Hale gave up a walk and his infield committed two errors, leading to a two-run game-tying single by Joe Bonadonna and a game-winning RBI single to the opposite field by McMurray to set off a furious celebration.

Shortstop Brandon Wikoff anchored the Illini offense in 2009, hitting .373 with 41 RBIs. He was a fifth-round pick by the Houston Astros in the 2009 MLB Draft, and was joined by teammates Dominic Altobelli (16th round, Colorado) and Bonadonna (43rd round, Texas). Wikoff was an All-American and a first-team All-Big Ten selection, and Altobelli was named to the All-Big Ten first team after hitting .361 with eight homers and 53 RBIs. Freshman DH Willie Argo was named a Freshman All-American by Collegiate Baseball after hitting .355 with 12 home runs, the second-most by a freshman in school history.