Baseball

Roster | Schedule | Statistics | Archives

April 17, 2008

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. -

Illinois-Minnesota Series Notes

Games 32-35 // Minnesota

April 18 // 3:05 pm
April 19 (DH) // 1:05 pm
April 20 // 1:05 pm
Siebert Field // Minneapolis, Minn.

SERIES INSIDER
ILLINOIS (18-13 // 6-6) at Minnesota (15-18 // 5-7)
Live Stats: Gametracker on fightingillini.com
Radio: All Games live on fightingillini.com
Games 2-3 tape-delayed on WDWS AM-1400
Game 4 live on WDWS-AM 1400
(Dave Loane, play-by-play; Ben Taylor, analyst)
Series: MINN leads 99-89-1 // MINN leads 48-44 @ home
Last Year: Minnesota won series, 3-1
Streak: L3

Game 1 Probables
Illinois: Kevin Manson (RHP, 3-1, 5.65 ERA)
Minnesota: Tom Buske (RHP, 4-3, 3.83 ERA)

Game 2 Probables
Illinois: Scott Shaw (RHP, 3-2, 7.82 ERA)
Minnesota: Kyle Carr (LHP, 2-4, 4.71 ERA)

Game 3 Probables
Illinois: Phil Haig (LHP, 0-1, 4.50 ERA)
Minnesota: Seth Rosin (RHP, 1-0, 3.69 ERA)

Game 4 Probables
Illinois: Aaron Martin (RHP, 4-3, 4.89 ERA)
Minnesota: Dustin Brabender (RHP, 3-3, 5.49 ERA)

Last ILL Sweep: 1997
Last ILL 3-1 Series: 2006
Last Split: 2003
Last MINN 3-1 Series: 2007
Last MINN Sweep: 1984 (3-game series)

Illinois is...
...15-2 when scoring first
...15-1 when out-hitting its opponent
...14-0 when leading after 7 innings (5 in doubleheader)

Illini Line Drives
• Stop Him Before He Steals Again!: Kyle Hudson leads the nation in stolen bases per game with 0.87 (through Wednesday's games) and ranks second in total steals behind Old Dominion's Jimmy Miles (29). Hudson has stolen 15 bases already in the month of April (15-for-18) and is 27-for-33 on the season, well above pace to break Shawn Roof's school record of 40 steals.

• Conference Road Warriors: Illinois has been road warriors in the Big Ten so far this season, with this weekend's series at Minnesota marking the third conference road trip for the Illini in the first half of the league season. It is the second year in a row that Illinois has had such a schedule, but the only two times in school history that the Illini have played three of the first four conference series on the road. Illinois is 6-2 in Big Ten road action so far, needing just three more road wins to tie the school record for most road conference victories.

• Little Big League: On Tuesday, the Fighting Illini finished a stretch of 16 games in 18 days spanning from March 29-April 15. It is the most compacted stretch of games since the 1982 team also played 16 games in 18 days. In comparison, eight Major League teams play 15 games in the first 18 days of their season.

• 49% of the Time It Works Every Time: Kyle Hudson has been an incredible table-setter for the Illini this year after moving to the No. 1 spot in the batting order in the season's sixth game. He is reaching base at a .493 clip, which leads the team and is fourth in the Big Ten, and is reaching base at a .489 clip to start an inning. In addition, Hudson has a Big Ten-best 26 walks, 14 in conference play.

• Who Says He Can't Hit Third?: Shortstop Brandon Wikoff has taken hold of the No. 3 spot in the batting order, hitting .411 in the No. 3 hole so far this season. Wikoff raked at a .467 clip on Spring Trip while hitting exclusively in the third spot.

• Wikoff a Tough Out: Wikoff has been very consistent during Illinois' last 24 games, collecting a hit in 22 of them and racking up a career-best 10-game hitting streak before going hitless in the second game at Michigan State. He has gone 15-for-30 (.500) with 11 RBIs and seven runs in his last eight games, raising his average 34 points.

• Hastings Finds Stroke: After hitting .286 over Illinois' first 22 games, first baseman Ryan Hastings caught fire in the final three games at Indiana, going 7-for-12 with a five-hit game in the series finale. It was his first career five-hit game and only Illinois' fourth in the last four seasons (Rogowski - 2005; Schultz - 2006; Snowden - 2006). Hastings has continued to hit well lately, having raised his average 51 points in eight games by going 13-for-28 (.464).

• Sterk Quiets Opposing Bats: Sophomore reliever Mike Sterk has been incredible lately, not allowing an earned run in his last 10 1/3 innings of work while recording a win and a save. Sterk tossed three shutout innings against Southern Illinois to notch his first career save, then gave up just one unearned run on three hits in 2 1/3 innings of work in the series opener at Indiana to earn his first career win. Sterk finished the weekend by throwing two shutout innings of relief in the series finale. He added a scoreless inning of relief against Illinois College and two shutout innings at Eastern Illinois.

• Haig Mows 'Em Down: Prior to his rough start at Eastern Illinois, Phil Haig pitched well in his first three career outings, not allowing an earned run in five innings while striking out eight and walking just one. Haig's best relief stint came against No. 23 Michigan when he gave up one unearned run in three innings, walking one and striking out five Wolverine hitters.

• Born to Run: The Illini have been active on the basepaths recently, stealing 14-of-16 bases in its last six games. Kyle Hudson was 6-of-7 and Joe Bonadonna was 3-of-3 on the basepaths in that stretch.

• Illini Among Big Ten Leaders in Average & Fielding: The Illini currently rank second in the Big Ten with a .324 batting average and second with a .967 fielding percentage. Illinois also leads the league in on-base percentage (.410) and ranks second in stolen bases (63) and walks allowed (108), and third in runs (215) and RBI (192).

• WIU Game Added for Wednesday: Illinois has added a make-up game for this coming Wednesday, April 23, against Western Illinois. The game will start at 6:30 p.m. at Illinois Field.

Illini Visit Golden Gophers
Illinois travels to Minneapolis this weekend, looking to break its five-game losing streak, the longest of the season. Minnesota also has struggled lately, losing nine of their last 12 games, including a series loss to Ohio State. The Gophers also have split series with Indiana and Northwestern. Center fielder Matt Nohelty has had an incredible junior season, hitting .428 with a team-high 27 RBIs and 17-of-23 stolen bases. Weekend starters Seth Rosin (3.69) and Tom Buske (3.83) both have ERAs under four and Saturday starter Kyle Carr holds a 4.71 ERA.

Illinois Trails All-Time Series With Gophers
Minnesota leads the all-time series with the Fighting Illini by a slim 99-89-1 margin and holds just a four-game advantage in games played in Minneapolis, 48-44. The Gophers hold a 12-8 margin in the last five series, winning three games out of four in 2004, 2005 and 2007, splitting the 2003 series and dropping three of four to Illinois in 2006. The teams last played at Siebert Field in 2005, squaring off in the Metrodome in 2006 and at Illinois Field last season.

Last Year Against Minnesota
In the 2007 series against Minnesota, the Illini took the Friday game by a 10-5 score behind a solid but unspectacular outing by Tanner Roark in which he allowed five runs - three earned - on 10 hits and a walk. But the Gophers committed a whopping five errors, allowing five unearned runs as Illinois stayed perfect in Big Ten openers. But the rest of the series wasn't as kind to the Illini, as Minnesota rebounded with a doubleheader sweep by scores of 19-4 and 14-5, then took the series finale by a 15-6 tally.

Illini Career Stats vs. Minnesota
Three Illini hitters hold career averages over .300 against the Golden Gophers. Below is a listing of current Illinois hitters' career stats against Minnesota:

Player	Avg	AB	R	H	RBI	2B	3B	HR
Bonadonna	.385	13	3	5	4	1	0	0
Webb	.375	16	2	6	3	1	0	0
Hastings	.343	35	10	12	5	2	3	1
Hudson	.286	28	6	8	5	2	0	0
Stockwell	.278	18	3	5	3	0	0	1
Wikoff	.125	16	3	2	1	0	0	0
Altobelli	.000	3	0	0	0	0	0	0

Last Time Out: Michigan, Eastern Illinois
How quickly things can change. After heading into the Michigan series having won 16 of their last 20, the Illini travel to Minnesota on a five-game losing streak. The damage started with the first at bat of the Michigan series, as Wolverine lead-off man Jason Christian homered off Kevin Manson to start Friday's game. Michigan added three more homers to cruise to a 9-5 win. The Wolverines poured it on in Saturday's doubleheader, winning by scores of 14-4 and 14-6. On Sunday, Michigan took an early 7-0 lead, but the Illini fought back with two runs in the fifth and single tallies in the seventh and eighth. But Illinois could never get a big rally going as the Wolverines swept the series with a 7-4 victory.

On Tuesday, the Illini traveled to Mattoon to face Eastern Illinois and the Orange and Blue continued to struggle. After retiring EIU's first two hitters, Illinois starter Phil Haig walked the next two hitters and gave up two hits, another walk and the Illini made two errors to let the Panthers take a 4-0 lead. After EIU scored a run in the second, Illinois came back with three in the third but the Panthers scored sixth in the bottom half and two more in the fourth. The Illini couldn't mount a rally and fell, 13-3.

Illinois Wraps Up 16 Games in 18 Days
On Tuesday, the Fighting Illini finished their tightest-packed stretch of schedule in 27 years, playing 16 games in 18 days from March 29-April 15. Included in that span were series against Michigan State, Indiana and Michigan, as well as four midweek games. The last time Illinois played as many games in such a short time period was April 10-28, 1982, when the Illini also played 16 games in 18 days. In fact, Illinois played more games during that span than eight MLB teams play in the season's first 18 days. Here's a look at the five toughest stretches of schedule in the last 30 years:

Year	Games	Days	Dates
2008	16	18	March 29-April 15
2002	17	21	March 30-April 16
1986	14	16	March 19-30
1982	16	18	April 10-28
1977	15	15	March 13-21

Reeser Shuts the Door
Following a rough 2007 season in the bullpen, Ben Reeser has adjusted well to his new closer role this season, sporting a 2-0 ERA with four saves and a team-best 2.49 ERA in 21 2/3 innings. Reeser has given up just 17 hits and four walks while striking out 18 for a .213 opponent batting average. He has been especially effective when runners do reach base, allowing foes to hit just .171.

Hudson Streaking Through 2008
Center fielder Kyle Hudson already has put together three solid hitting streaks in just 26 games. Hudson started the year with a six-game string before going 0-for-3 against Eastern Kentucky. Then he posted nine consecutive games with a hit from March 15-29, eight of those being multiple-hit games, including three-hit games against Miami (OH), the second game of the doubleheader against Central Connecticut State and Judson. Then, from March 30-April 12, Hudson hit safely in a career-best 11 straight games. He is now hitting .381 with a team-best 36 runs, 26 walks and 27 steals.

Hudson also has put together an impressive string of 15 consecutive stolen bases without being caught from March 21-April 6 until he was thrown out trying to steal third in the first inning of game three at Indiana. For the season, Hudson is 4-of-6 when attempting to steal third base.

Wikoff Finds Groove
Shortstop Brandon Wikoff has heated up at the plate recently, collecting a hit in each of Illinois' last seven games while going 15-for-30 (.500) with 11 RBIs, seven runs and two stolen bases. He has a hit in 27 of the Illini's 31 games this season and has posted hitting streaks of 10, eight and five games. He also leads the team with 15 multiple-hit games and nine multiple-RBI games.