Let’s talk about the fun stuff first. Matt Dittman was awarded the co-Big Ten Player of the Week yesterday! He hit .615 for the weekend with five rbis and scored seven. Ditt’s timing was impeccable as his big game came in the 11-10 win against #12 Coastal Carolina when he…
They played hard but Illinois lost to #21 East Carolina 7-5 in the first game of the Keith LeClair Classic in Greenville, North Carolina. It was a tough game against a tough team perhaps harder to take because Illinois was so close to winning it. Illinois had the lead after…
Well, the Illini gave St John’s a good fight. It was pretty much the story of two games within one. The first one where the Illini had them strung up in the first five innings, winning 4-0. It was indeed the 3-run fifth inning when Illinois did most of the…
…and then reality set in. ok, we weren’t going to win EVERY game this season. But the first loss of the year is sometimes a little harder to take. After beating 3-0 Notre Dame Friday night, Illinois couldn’t come up with the offense and certainly not the pitching to defeat…
That’s the way to start the season! Consider that the Illinois baseball team went into the Big Ten/BIG EAST Challenge cold having missed the first weekend of play due to weather while their opponents, Notre Dame, got a three game head start. Consider also that same Notre Dame team won…
It’s Monday, February 15, five days before the scheduled opening day at Illinois Field. Right now in Urbana, it’s 23 degrees and there are light flurries falling on the already packed snow. I’m not holding my breath for a game on Saturday but I’d love to see Mother Nature prove…
It was nice and warm Sunday October afternoon for Game Two of University of Illinois’ Orange and Blue World Series. There was just enough breeze to make things interesting. Yesterday, it was a good crowd in the stands because of the home football game. Even so, they managed to get…
More mantle hardware for the Illini hardballers. Willie Argo was named to the Louisvile Slugger Freshman All-American team by Collegiate Baseball newspaper last Wednesday. Argo hit .355 for Illinois in 2009 with 12 homeruns and 47 rbis and 10 stolen bases. His homerun mark was tied for second all-time for…
College summer leagues have already begun their seasons and Illinois players are among those playing. The University of Illinois baseball program has sent 21 players throughout the the country to 13 teams in nine different summer leagues. The Northwoods League, always a big client of the U of I, will…
Day and night. That’s how I’d describe the difference between Minnesota on Thursday and Minnesota on Friday. And unfortunately, Illinois had to play them Friday. The same Gopher team that couldn’t buy a hit against Indiana the day before and had its pitching pounded by their offense, came out a…