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Sophomore Tanner Roark will make his second start of the season against Yale Sunday at 1:30 p.m. (CT).
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Complete Illini Spring Trip Game Notes in PDF Format
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March 15, 2007
Games 10-16 // Spring Trip
March 16 // Vermont // 1:30 pm
March 17 // Jacksonville State // 9:30 am
March 18 // Yale // 1:30 pm
March 19 // Dartmouth // 9:30 am
March 21 // Massachusetts // 9 am
March 22 // Dartmouth // Noon
March 23 // Dartmouth // 9:30 am
IMG Baseball Academy Complex Fields // Bradenton, Fla.
Illinois (2-7) vs. Vermont (4-4)
Probable Illini Starter: Scott Shaw (RHP, 1-1, 6.75 ERA)
Live Coverage: Gametracker on fightingillini.com
Series: Illinois leads 2-0
Last Meeting: Illinois 15, Vermont 7 (3/22/06)
Streak: W2
Illinois (2-7) vs. Jacksonville State (7-9)
Probable Illini Starter: Mike Stankiewicz (RHP, 0-2, 8.47 ERA)
Live Coverage: Gametracker on fightingillini.com
Series: Teams have never met
Illinois (2-7) vs. Yale (4-4)
Probable Illini Starter: Tanner Roark (RHP, 0-0, 3.24 ERA)
Live Coverage: Gametracker on fightingillini.com
Series: Illinois leads 1-0
Last Meeting: Illinois 10, Yale 4 (6/4/1902)
Streak: W1
Illinois (2-7) vs. Dartmouth (1-2)
Probable Illini Starter: Aaron Martin (RHP, 0-0, 9.00 ERA)
Live Coverage: Gametracker on fightingillini.com
Series: Illinois leads 2-0
Last Meeting: Illinois 11, Dartmouth 6 (3/21/05)
Streak: W2
Illinois (2-7) vs. Massachusetts (0-3)
Probable Illini Starter: TBA
Live Coverage: Gametracker on fightingillini.com
Series: Illinois leads 2-0
Last Meeting: Illinois 4, Massachusetts 3 (3/20/06)
Streak: W2
Illinois (2-7) vs. Dartmouth (1-2)
Probable Illini Starter: TBA
Live Coverage: Gametracker on fightingillini.com
Series: Illinois leads 2-0
Last Meeting: Illinois 11, Dartmouth 6 (3/21/05)
Streak: W2
Illinois (2-7) vs. Dartmouth (1-2)
Probable Illini Starter: TBA
Live Coverage: Gametracker on fightingillini.com
Series: Illinois leads 2-0
Last Meeting: Illinois 11, Dartmouth 6 (3/21/05)
Streak: W2
*Records through games of 3/14
Illini Line Drives
• The Fighting Illini are fourth in the Big Ten in hitting with a .307 team average, second in runs scored with 64 and leading the league in steals with 23-of-26. Only Michigan State has scored more runs (78) in two more games.
• Kyle Hudson is second in the Big Ten in hitting at .469. He also is fourth in on-base percentage (.528) and sixth in RBI (9).
• Shawn Roof leads the Big Ten in stolen bases and steal attempts (10-of-10), and Hudson is tied for third in both (5-of-6).
• Three Illini have hitting streaks of five games or longer: Ryan Snowden (7), Joe Bonadonna (7) and Brandon Wikoff (6).
• Kyle Hudson leads Illinois with six multiple-hit games (5 two-hit, 1 four-hit), while Lars Davis' three multiple-RBI games are best on the squad.
• Davis' six runners caught stealing leads the Big Ten and Mike Rohde leads the league with 12 fielding double plays.
• Illini closer Jake Toohey is slated to return to the hill this coming week during Spring Trip. The week before the Louisiana-Lafayette series, Toohey ended up with bone chips in his right elbow when he fell on the ice, keeping him out of action for the season's first three weeks. He will likely be available out of the bullpen.
Illini Busy Over Break
This weekend, the Illini start their annual spring break trip, returning to the IMG Academies in Bradenton, Fla., for the third straight year. Illinois will play seven games against four opponents in eight days. All Illini games will be played at the Academy Park fields at the IMG Baseball Academy.
Last Time on Spring Trip
Last year the Orange and Blue went a perfect 7-0 on Spring Trip, outscoring opponents a combined 61-36. It was the first flawless Spring Trip since 2002, when Illinois went 5-0.
Current Illini on Spring Trip
For 19 of the Illini on the travel roster this week, Spring Break in Bradenton will be old hat. That's the number who made the trip last season when Illinois went 7-0. Ryan Hastings and Kyle Hudson were the two most productive Illini last season, Hastings hitting a whopping .526 with three doubles, a triple, 5 RBI, 8 runs and 2-of-2 steals. Hudson simply hit .458 with six RBI, six runs and 4-of-6 steals.
In addition, Ryan Snowden hit .370 with two doubles and 11 runs while taking hold of the lead-off spot and Dominic Altobelli hit .368 with his first career home run. Shawn Roof went .364 with six runs and five RBI, Lars Davis hit .333 with five runs and three RBI and Mike Rohde slugged .500 with seven runs and six RBI.
On the mound, Omar Kadir gave the Illini a quality start against Massachusetts, picking up the win, and Scott Shaw shut out eventual Horizon League champions Illinois-Chicago over 6 2/3 innings of five-hit ball. Ben Reeser had two solid bullpen outings and Tanner Roark made his first career start against Vermont. Jake Toohey had a 10:2 K/BB ratio in a pair of starts and Luke Obukowicz pitched a scoreless inning of relief.
Roof, Rohde, Toohey, Aaron Ifft and Jonathan Smiley also made the trip in 2005, meaning this will be their third venture to the IMG Academies.
Last Time Out: UT-Arlington
Illinois led in each game of the three-game set at UT-Arlington but couldn't pull out a win all weekend. Friday started the rough weekend when the Illini relinquished a 7-3 lead, losing 8-7 in 11 innings. Ryan Snowden went 1-for-3 with three runs, 2 hit-by-pitches and a steal. Illinois pitchers walked 13 Maverick hitters while striking out six.
Saturday looked to be a bright spot with Illinois once again scoring in the first inning and grabbing a 3-2 lead through three innings. But UTA scored 10 runs in the fourth, fifth and sixth innings and made the lead hold up for a 13-6 win. Brandon Wikoff was 2-for-4 with two RBI and a run, and Kyle Hudson went 2-for-3 with an RBI and a steal.
The Illini nearly salvaged the final game of the series, scoring in their first at bat for the third straight game and retaking the lead 3-2 in the third. The Illini held a 5-4 lead before allowing a run in the seventh and watching UTA blow up for a seven-run eighth inning to take a 12-5 Maverick win. Daniel Webb was 2-for-3 with an RBI and a run and Tanner Roark looked solid in his first start of the season, giving up four runs - two earned - on seven hits in 5. 1/3 innings.
Do They Play Baseball in Switzerland?
Illinois has a shocking record in true road games versus neutral-site games. On opponents' fields, the Illini are 0-7, but they are 2-0 at neutral sites. That's good news for the Orange and Blue, who will face all seven Spring Trip opponents on neutral fields.
Just One, Please
After the season's first nine games, 87 of 103 (84 percent) of Illinois' hits have been singles. Despite the lack of power, the Illini have found ways to bunch hits together, registering more than 10 hits in all but four games, and notching nine hits twice and seven hits twice in each of those contests. Illinois is averaging 11.4 hits per game.
Three Down, One to Go
Illinois has had a surprisingly high rate of success of driving in a runner from third with less than two outs so far this season. In that situation, the Illini have brought home the runner 80 percent of the time (31-of-39). Of those opportunities, Kyle Hudson (5-for-5), Daniel Webb (4-for-4), Mike Rohde (2-for-2), Shawn Roof (2-for-2), and Craig Lutes (1-for-1) all are perfect in the situation.
Here We Go, Here We go Again
A team that returned most of the 87 stolen bases from a year ago, the Illini have already swiped 23-of-26 bags this season. Illinois took 9-of-11 bases at the Al Ogletree Classic and followed that up with a 10-of-11 performance at UT-Arlington. Once again, Shawn Roof is leading the charge at 10-of-10 thus far, Kyle Hudson is 5-of-6 and Ryan Snowden is 3-of-4.
Wikoff Showing He Belongs
Freshman third baseman Brandon Wikoff has provided a hot bat and solid defense in his rookie season, hitting .385 through nine games. In moving Mike Rohde to first, the Illini needed a third baseman to fill his shoes. Wikoff has done just that, with his five multiple-hit games (3 two-hit, 2 three-hit) second on the team and his two multiple-RBI games tied for second on the squad. Wikoff currently holds a six-game hitting streak and has at least one hit in eight of nine games this season.
Roof at it Again
After finishing second in the Big Ten in steals in 2006, Shawn Roof hasn't wasted any time on the basepaths this season. Against Louisiana-Lafayette, he stole a pair of bases on the same trip around the infield, taking both second and third bases in the fourth inning of the Sunday game. Exactly one week later, Roof broke his career high and tied the school single-game record with four steals against Stephen F. Austin. Then, at UT-Arlington, Roof stole a base in each game and two in the Saturday contest. He now has eight multiple-steal games in his career and has stolen 11 straight bases dating back to 2006.
K-Hud Proves to be a Pest
Centerfielder Kyle Hudson has been quite the best to opponents this season, both offensively and defensively. Hudson's range in the outfield is well known, and his team-leading .469 batting average is second-best in the Big Ten. He is tied for the team lead with nine RBI, two doubles and 15 hits, and has a team-best .528 on-base percentage with four walks against just three strikeouts. His 5-of-6 stolen bases also is tied for third in the Big Ten in both steals and steal attempts.
Lars Davis, Canadian Catching Machine
Catcher Lars Davis has started strong both at the plate and behind it this season. His .368 average is third on the team and he knocked the first home run by an Illini in Sunday's game against Texas-Arlington. His nine RBI is tied for the team lead and his .553 slugging percentage is an Illini team best. When he puts his gear on he's nearly as good, having thrown out 6-of-16 runners (38 percent) in the past two weekends.
