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 | Class:
Junior
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| Hometown:
Libertyville, Ill.
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| High School:
Libertyville
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| Height / Weight:
6-2 / 200
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| Position:
1B
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| Birthdate:
09/18/1988
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| B/T:
L/R
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AT ILLINOIS
2009 - Sophomore: Played in 45 games, starting 42, all at first base ... Became Illinois' everyday first baseman in the second game of the season when Mike Giller broke a finger and never relinquished the position ... Went 2-for-3 with two RBIs, two runs and three walks against West Virginia on Feb. 22 ... Broke out of a 5-for-32 slump with a 2-for-3 outing and an RBI in the second game of the Indiana series on April 4 ... That game started a career-best 11-game hitting streak in which he hit 17-for-39 (.436) to raise his batting average 116 points ... Named Big Ten Player of the Week on April 13 after hitting .545 (6-for-11) with four RBIs, four runs, a double, a homer and two walks in the Michigan series ... Went 5-for-11 with three RBIs and three runs in the Minnesota series ... Went 5-for-9 (.556) in the last two games of the Penn State series (April 25-26) with a double, a triple, two RBIs and a run to help Illinois sweep the Nittany Lions ... Also homered against Northwestern (May 2) and Evansville (May 5) ... Academic All-Big Ten honoree ... Played for the Lake Erie Monarchs of the Great Lakes Summer Collegiate League during the summer alongside Illini teammate Doug Schumacher ... Hit .306 for the Monarchs with 23 RBIs in 35 games ... He led the league in fielding double plays, ranked sixth in RBIs and eighth in hits.ts.
2008 - Redshirt-Freshman: Played in eight games on the season ... Notched his first career hit and first career run at Baylor on Feb. 29 ... Went 1-for-2 with a triple and a run against Illinois College on April 9 ... Walked and scored a run against Southern Illinois on April 29 ... Played for the Lake Erie Monarchs of the Great Lakes Summer Collegiate League during the summer.
2007 - Freshman: Redshirted the 2007 season ... Played for the Lombard Orioles of the Chicago Suburban Baseball League during the summer along with Illini teammate Nick Stockwell.
HIGH SCHOOL
Hit .477 with 39 RBIs, 52 hits and 19 doubles in 2006 ... Led Libertyville in hitting (.477), RBIs (33), hits (51) and on-base percentage (.548) in 2005 ... Career .477 batting average is a Libertyville school record ... Was 2006 Libertyville MVP and captain ... Named a Chicago Tribune Scholar-Athlete in 2006 ... Earned 2005-2006 All-North Suburban Conference athletic and academic honors ... Received IHSBCA All-State and All-Area honors in 2006 ... Named to the Daily Herald All-Area team in 2005 and 2006 ... Named honorable mention All-State by the Chicago Tribune in 2005 ... First-team All-Area, All-Lake Shore and All-NSC in 2005 ... Played for the McHenry County Hurricanes during the summers of 2004-06, placing third in the 2004 CABA World Series, placing second in the 2006 CABA, and earning 2006 All-Tourney CABA honors ... Chose Illinois over Michigan, Michigan State, Indiana and Miami (Ohio).
PERSONAL
Born Sept. 18, 1988, in Teaneck, N.J. ... Parents are Bill and Sue Dittman ... Majoring in finance ... Has a younger brother, Robbie (14) ... Enjoys playing poker ... Lists his biggest thrills in sports as playing against Japan in the championships of the ISU CABA World Series ... Named All-Academic at Libertyville High School ... National Honor Society member ... Student of the Month at Libertyville in 2004 ... Was involved in Athletes C.A.R.E., an athlete mentoring program ... Was a member of North Suburban Conference Leadership Council ... Also belonged to FCA and Interact ... His favorite athlete is Derek Jeter ... His earliest baseball memory is catching a foul ball at a Mets/Pirates game when he was five ... Lists his parents as most influencing his athletic career ... Planning a career in marketing.
