The Rockford Rivets’ season is now “indefinitely on hold” as there was concerns of exposure to the Covid-19 virus by a staff member. Why is important to Illini fans? The Rivets, a Northwoods League team, has three Illini on their roster. I found this out the hard way this as…
Last week, FightingIllini.com announced that Illinois pitcher Aidan Maldonado was ranked #77 among draft prospects by Baseball America. Add that to another honor for the sophomore right-hander. Maldonado’s 2020 season was cut short by Covid-19, of course. He showed signs of continuing his success. In his 2019 season with the…
Summer collegiate league ball is in full swing! While the Illini 2020 season was shelved, the Northwoods League is going ahead with their season. The Illinois Baseball program has a long history with the NWL and this year is no exception. Sixteen Illinois baseball players will be playing on seven…
When we heard about the new Field Turf being laid out this summer, I thought about the previously-announced baseball training center and what the plans were for that. We hadn’t heard much about that recently. Sure enough, there was an announcement about that last week along with a architectural rendering…
Two former Illini relievers are making their way up towards better things! Joey Gerber Joey Gerber (2016-2018) has been called up by the Seattle Mariners to their 60-player training camp. Workouts begin July 3 for Gerber. One of top bullpen aces in the Big Ten, Joey Gerber was drafted as…
This summer, Illinois Field will be getting a makeover. It’s been over twelve years since the field received its first installment of Field Turf in February 2008. You can see some photos of the 2008 installation here. Before that, Illinois was covered in grass and dirt. Now, it will be…
One of Illinois’ most consistent starters in recent memory will be going on to greener pastures. According to FightingIllini.com, righthander Ty Weber has been signed by the San Francisco Giants organization this week! This has been a roller-coaster year for senior Ty Weber. He was off to a great start…
Infielder Jackson Raper has signed a national letter of intent to play for the Illini. Jackson will be joining as a graduate transfer from Catawba College in Salisbury, North Carolina. He will have one year of eligibility beginning in 2021. Jackson played in 22 games at Division II Catawba this…
It’s been six days since the announcement was made that the Illinois baseball spring 2020 season along with all Big Ten spring sports, has been canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. To be sure, this has hit the team, the parents and the baseball program hard. Beyond just canceling games,…
I logged into my laptop tonight hoping to write up a quick preview of this weekend’s Illinois baseball series against Southern Illinois. That’s when I saw this tweet by the Big Ten. Wow. This is unprecedented at least in the fifteen years I have followed Illinois baseball. Some in the…