April 20, 2006

Complete Illinois-Iowa Game Notes in PDF Format
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Game 34-37: Iowa • Illinois Field
April 21 • 6:05 pm
Matt Whitmore (RHP) vs. Luke O'Loughlin (RHP)
1-0, 1.33 ERA 2-4, 6.99 ERA

April 22 • 3:05 pm (DH)
Game 1: Ben Reeser (RHP) vs. Jeff Maitland (LHP)
2-1, 6.17 ERA 4-1, 2.51 ERA

Game 2: Tanner Roark (RHP) vs. Austin Seward (RHP)
1-0, 4.70 ERA 3-3, 5.18 ERA

April 23 • 1:05 pm
Jake Stewart (RHP) vs. Steve Turnbull (RHP)
2-2, 5.47 ERA 1-0, 5.60 ERA

Illinois vs. Iowa
(17-16, 4-8) (16-18, 5-7)

Live Audio: WDWS AM-1400 (Gms 1 and 3) and streaming on fightingillini.com (Gms 1, 3 and 4) (PBP: Dave Loane; Analysis: Steve Layman and Eric Loy)
Live Stats: Gametracker on fightingillini.com
Series: Illinois leads 116-72-3
Last Season: Iowa won the series 3-1
Streak: Iowa, 2

Illini Storylines
• Illinois is...
...9-3 when scoring first
...13-3 when ahead through 7 innings (5 in DH games)
...11-4 when out-hitting its opponent
...7-4 when the bullpen gets the decision
...8-3 when making fewer errors than its opponent
...15-6 when scoring four or more runs
...7-2 when the final margin is two runs
...5-1 when not making an error

• Chase Takes the Lead: Designated hitter Chase Kliment has been Illinois' hottest hitter in the last seven games, going back to the 4/9 DH at Ohio State. In that span, Kliment has hit .481 with 5 doubles for a .667 slugging pct and driven in 8 runs to go along with 7 runs scored. He also made a start in left field in the April 15 nightcap against Northwestern, throwing out a runner at the plate in the 12th inning.

• Make It a Double: While they have had their share of errors this season, the Illini infield has also been among the nation's best in turning the double play. Illinois was 9th in the nation in fielding double plays through April 12 with 1.14 per game. On the season, the Illini now have 36 DPs, 22 that have ended innings.

• Whitmore On Watch List: Matt Whitmore was named to the NCBWA Stopper of the Year Award midseason watch list on April 19 after converting his first six save chances this season and compiling a 1-0 record with a 1.33 ERA in 20 1/3 innings. The award is given to the nation's best relief pitcher and the winner will be selected on June 7.

• And They're Off: Through 32 games, Illinois has 51 stolen bases in 74 attempts. On Tuesday at ISU, the Illini stole 6-of-9 bases, including 3-of-3 by Shawn Roof. This is well ahead of last season's pace, when it took the 2005 squad 49 games to swipe 51 bags. Roof is the somewhat-surprising steals leader for the Illini, taking 14 bases in 17 tries. In Big Ten play, Roof is a perfect 7-for-7 on the basepaths.

• Snow at the Top: After trying a few different players in the spot, leftfielder Ryan Snowden has taken hold of the lead-off role, racking up a .429 on-base percentage and a .474 slugging percentage in the top spot since Spring Trip. He has scored a team-high 26 runs in those 22 games with a team-best 12 doubles, while drawing 11 walks and being hit by a pitch six times.

• Friend or Foe?: While Illinois has torn up the basepaths lately, catchers Lars Davis and Aaron Ifft have been holding opponents to the base they occupy. Combined, they have thrown out four of the last five steal attempts, and Davis has thrown out the last 4-of-6 basestealers. Ifft is nearly as good, gunning down his last two and 2-of-4 vs. Northwestern. In the last 10 games, Illini runners have swiped 20-of-28 bags while opponents are 5-of-11.

• Home Field Advantage: Illinois drew 1,012 fans against Purdue on March 31, a school record for a Big Ten home opening crowd. For the series, 2,328 fans came out, the third-best total in a Big Ten home-opening series. In eight home dates this season, Illinois is averaging 716 fans per date.

Put a Jersey On!
For the Iowa series, the main promomtional event will be Saturday's Jersey Day, in which everyone who wears a sports jersey of any kind to the game will receive free admission. Saturday is also WPGU Day, featuring a live remote from the student radio station. Friday's series opener features Little League Day, in which all Little Leaguers are invited to the game and will receive free admission. Sunday is Fan Appreciation Day, featuring numerous prizes and giveaways. The entire weekend is First Pitch Baseball weekend, as tickets have been given away to participants in the First Pitch Baseball tournament taking place in Champaign this weekend.

Scouting the Hawkeyes
Iowa comes to Illinois Field losers of six of its last eight games, including a mid-week series split with North Dakota State. As of April 17's stats, the Hawkeyes rank last in the Big Ten in hitting (.241) in conference games, seventh in pitching (6.04 ERA) and ninth in fielding (.947). Iowa lost three of four to Minnesota last weekend after winning three at Penn State and dropping three at home to Ohio State.

• Second baseman Travis Sweet is Iowa's only hitter over .300 with his .321 average as of April 17. He is second on the team with 20 RBI and 22 runs and leads the Hawks with 15 steals in 19 atttempts. However, he has eight errors on the season at second for a .926 fielding percentage.

• As expected, closer Tim Gudex has been Iowa's top pitcher with a 3-1 record and 0.96 ERA. He is also tied with Illini hurler Matt Whitmore for the Big Ten saves lead with six. Gudex has allowed only nine hits in 19.2 innings and leads the Hawkeyes with 16 appearances.

• Like Illinois, Iowa has been tearing up the basepaths in Big Ten play, stealing 18-of-24 bases. But the Hawkeyes haven't been as strong behind the plate, throwing out just 3-of-21 attempted basestealers in conference play.

Series History
• Illinois leads the all-time series 116-72-3, but lost three of four to the Hawkeyes in 2005's final conference weekend. Going into that weekend, the Illini needed two wins or a win and a Purdue loss to clinch the Big Ten title. Illinois was able to win just the first game Saturday, but Indiana took their final game against the Boilers on Sunday to make the Illini conference champions.

• Jake Stewart was one of the only Illini to thrive against Iowa in 2005, throwing 6 2/3 innings while giving up two runs on eight hits. Mike Rohde hit .364 in the series and walked three times. Shawn Roof had a 2-for-3 game with a double and two RBI in Illinois' only win, a 3-0 victory in Saturday's first game. Ryan Hastings had a good series against the Hawkeyes in 2004, going 5-for-10 in Iowa City.

• Because of a scheduling quirk, Iowa is one of six Big Ten foes Illinois faces at the same site the teams played in 2005. Only Ohio State and Purdue were at different sites, as OSU traveled to Champaign in 2005 and the Illini didn't face Purdue last season.

A Look Back
The Illini were unable to get over the hump in a series against Northwestern, dropping three of four games. Friday set the tone for a crazy series with the Wildcats taking a 19-18 win in a game that featured 46 hits, 17 for extra bases. Illinois pulled out to a 10-1 lead after two innings but a seven-run fourth inning for NU erased that and locked the teams in a brawl for the rest of the three-hour, 24-minute game. The Illini seemingly came out flat in Saturday's first game as the Wildcats' Dan Brauer scattered seven hits and allowed three runs as NU won 7-3.

But Saturday's nightcap was the game most people involved in the series will remember for a while. Illinois led 3-1 through three innings, but NU took a 4-3 lead into the bottom of the sixth, where the Illini tied the game. Northwestern scored two more in the seventh, but so did Illinois, sending the game into extra innings. Illinois' Matt Whitmore found a groove in extra innings, allowing only one base runner in the eighth, ninth and 10th innings combined. Meanwhile, Dave Schultz was gunned down at the plate in the ninth inning on a fantastic throw from deep in the left-field corner. Ryan Snowden and Chase Kliment showed off their arms in the 11th and 12th innings, respectively, but the Wildcats managed a run in the 12th and kept Illinois off the board to take a 7-6 win.

The Illini finally got a win in the series on Easter Sunday when Jake Stewart threw five solid innings, Aaron Martin tossed two shutout innings of relief and severe storms in the area forced the game to be called in the bottom of the seventh, giving Illinois a 3-1 win.

Illinois kept the momentum going at Illinois State on Tuesday, taking out the Redbirds 8-3. Scott Shaw tossed six strong innings to get his second career win, and Mike Rohde was 3-for-3 with a double and two runs. Lars Davis had three RBI, and Shawn Roof had three hits and three steals as Illinois broke a three-game losing streak to ISU.

Roof is on Fire
Shawn Roof has been on a base-stealing tear lately, swiping 11-of-14 bags in Illinois' last 17 games. He stole 3-of-4 at Illinois State and leads the Big Ten in conference games only with six steals in as many attempts. He has also stolen 4-of-5 bases since moving to the No. 2 hole in the batting order in the first game against Northwestern. Roof had a streak of seven steals without being caught from March 24-April 9.

On the Rohde Again
Mike Rohde has thrived since moving to the five-hole from the No. 2 spot in the order in the April 14 game against Northwestern. In the five games since that move, Rohde is hitting 8-for-17 (.471) with six RBI, five runs and two doubles.

Kliment Chase-ing Away Bench
After not playing in the last two games of the Purdue series, Chase Kliment has come on strong. In the Illini's last 10 games, the junior DH is hitting 15-for-34 (.442) with five doubles, eight RBI and seven runs.

"Snowman" Not Frosty
Ryan Snowden, or "Snowman," as coach Ken Westray calls him, has taken off in Illinois' last 16 games. The junior transfer is hitting .365 in that stretch with 13 runs, but his power production has been the most remarkable facet of his game, hitting 10 doubles for a .558 slugging percentage and a .459 on-base percentage in the lead-off spot. Against Western Michigan, Snowden had two doubles in each of the two games while hitting .714 with a 1.286 slugging percentage.

Whitmore Saves the Day
Senior closer Matt Whitmore has converted six of eight save chances and was recently named Big Ten Pitcher of the Week after recording three saves on April 3. Whitmore also earned a mention on the College Baseball Foundation Honor Roll, which recognizes a handful of the top performers across the nation from the past week. His six saves have already topped the total by last season's save leader, Jake Toohey, who had five. This week he takes on a new role, making the first Friday start of his Illinois career.