Jordan Parr having a little fun the batboy before Tuesday’s game
Illinois Baseball will try to make up ground in the Big Ten this weekend as they take on the Ohio State Buckeyes for three games. At the moment, the Illini are 3-6 in conference (20-16 overall) and tied for ninth place with Michigan. The Buckeyes have done slightly better in the Big Ten season at 6-6 in a tie with Indiana for fifth place.
Illinois hopes their success during the midweek will carry over into the weekend. On Tuesday, a 7-5 comeback victory over Illinois State with the help of relief pitcher Drasen Johnson gave the fans something to cheer about. The next day, they traveled to Mattoon and defeated Eastern Illinois for the second time this season behind the arm of freshman Josh Ferry. Ferry struck out six batters in the 5-2 Illini win.
Interesting Stat of the Day: Justin Parr leads the team with 9 multi-rbi games this season. No other player has more than seven.
A quick rundown on the Buckeye series:
Ohio State Buckeyes |
||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| April 20, 2012 | 6:05 pm CT | |||
| April 21, 2012 | 3:05 pm CT | |||
| April 22, 2012 | 1:05 noon CT | |||
| Illinois Field | Champaign, IL | |||
| Program website link | 2012 Record 21-16 (6-6 Big Ten) | |||
| Head Coach: Greg Beals | Key player: Josh Dezse (.331, 23 rbis, 3.38 ERA, 3 Sv) | |||
A historically tough baseball program, Ohio State has been holding their own in 2012. They’re 21-16 with a .500 conference record. Lately, they’ve run into some bad luck, losing their last four games (that coming after a seven game winning streak). Last weekend, they took on Nebraska and like Illinois they won the Friday game but lost the next two. Sunday’s game bore a striking resemblance to Illini’s game with them… they lost 17-9.
I seem to remember Josh Dezse’s name from last year. As well I should. Dezse can hit (.331), play first base, and pitch out of the bullpen (he’s their saves leader with 3).
Random Ramblings
My latest column for Smile Politely was posted this morning.
Funny, I had just met Drasen Johnson’s father right before the Illinois State game. Thomas Lindauer’s dad introduced us. As luck would have it, Drasen pitched fantastically out of the pen.
Finally, the Bleacher Bum Barbeque is coming up on May 4th!. The guys cooked up a fun video to promote the event.
Nice ‘staches, guys!
Get out to the park this weekend, everyone!!!