March 2, 2009

PARK RIDGE, Ill. - Freshman second baseman Josh Parr (Chillicothe, Ill.) was named the Big Ten Co-Player of the Week along with Ohio State catcher Dan Burkhart, the league office announced Monday. Parr hit .700 (7-for-10) with a four-hit game and a .900 slugging percentage on the weekend to lead the Illini to a 3-0 trip and a tournament title at the Al Ogletree Classic. Parr becomes the second Illini rookie to earn the honor in as many years, as Casey McMurray was named Big Ten Player of the Week on April 28, 2008.

Parr opened the tournament by going 4-for-4 with two RBIs against host Texas-Pan American on Friday, then posted a 2-for-3 effort with two more RBIs against Stephen F. Austin in Illinois' 4-2 win. The rookie then wrapped up the tournament by going 1-for-3 with an RBI triple in the Illini's 3-2 win over Texas-Arlington on Sunday.

He was 3-for-3 with runners in scoring position and 4-for-4 with runners on base over the weekend. Parr also raised his batting average 203 points over the weekend and now leads Illinois in average (.476), slugging (.619) on-base percentage (.542), hits (10) and total bases (13). He currently ranks fifth and seventh in the Big Ten in average and on-base percentage, respectively.

Parr and the Illini travel to No. 1 LSU next weekend for the three-game series at the new Alex Box Stadium. The series will mark Illinois' first games against a top-ranked opponent since playing three games against No. 1 Miami in 1995. The Orange and Blue went 1-2 in that series.