It’s Spring Break next week. While most students here will be going on vacation and having fun, the Illini baseball team will be heading to West Haven, Florida, what used to be the spring training home of the Cleveland Indians. West Haven’s Chain of Lakes will be put to good…
A couple days ago, I posted some photos from 2005 that I had not seen for a long while. As promised, here are some from 2006 I also ran across. Again, these photos are not the best quality but definitely valuable from an archive perspective. Enjoy. Shawn Roof at…
I ran across some old photographs on my system that not been previously posted. By old I mean 2005, before I started blogging about the team. To put this into historical context, this was the year that Illinois won the Big Ten Championship. It was also Coach Itch Jones’ last…
There’s a first time for everything and no one knows that more than former Illini infielder Shawn Roof. Last night in the very last game of the Erie Seawolves’ regular season, Roof hit his very first home run in professional and college play. His homerun came against the Akron Aeros…
Shawn Roof It’s Birthday time for Illini baseball players! Today, on August 3, four former Illini will celebrate birthdays. Happy Birthday to Ryan Hastings, Ty Milner, Shawn Roof and Scott Shaw. Milner and Shaw were even born on the exact day. So if you know any of these guys, wish…
SS Shawn Roof dogging baserunner and brother Eric Roof in a 2007 MSU-ILL game "It’s awesome, it’s the coolest thing ever. He’s worked his tail off, and not too many people get to say they have a brother who plays minor-league baseball as well. Now, he gets to play in…
Former Illinois SS Shawn Roof is really hitting the ball lately in the minors. After starting out with the Lakeland Flying Tigers, he advanced to AA earlier this year and is playing for the Erie Seawolves. Since then, he’s really come on. He went 4 for 5 with two triples…
The Big Ten Tournament banner including Illinois’ Brandon Wikoff As always, I had a great time at the Big Ten Tournament. Win or lose, it’s a culmination of everything that the Illinois team has worked so hard for all season. They’ve exceeded everyone else’s expectations this season and each one…
MSU fan Tom Tomkins posted some Spartan photos from last weekend’s series against Northwestern on his blog, Oak Openings and Observations. It looks like we played MSU at just about the right time. After we swept them, they mightily defeated Central Michigan 20-3. The Roof Brothers (brothers of former Illinois…
I always enjoy getting emails especially when they come from former Illini players. Shawn Roof updated me on his latest since he got promoted to the Tigers’ AA squad, the Erie Seawolves. Roof is enjoying the slightly cooler weather in Erie, PA (compared to Single-A weather in Florida, at least). …