May 14, 2008

Illinois-Purdue Series Notes

Games 50-53 // Purdue

Series Insider
ILLINOIS (29-20 // 15-12) vs. Purdue (27-22 // 18-9)
Live Stats: Gametracker on fightingillini.com
Television: Games 2-4 live on Big Ten Network (Brian Barnhart, PBP; Danan Hughes, analyst)
Radio: All Games live on WDWS AM-1400 and fightingillini.com (Dave Loane, PBP; Eric Loy, analyst)
Series: ILL leads 149-68-1 // ILL leads 81-32 @ ILL
Last Series: Split series, 2-2 (3/30-4/1/07)
Streak: L2

Game 1 Probables
Purdue: Matt Bischoff (RHP, 4-3, 3.58 ERA)
Illinois: Kevin Manson (RHP, 7-1, 5.51 ERA)

Game 2 Probables
Purdue: Matt Jansen (LHP, 3-2, 6.18 ERA)
Illinois: Scott Shaw (RHP, 4-2, 6.80 ERA)

Game 3 Probables
Purdue: Kyle Cook (LHP, 4-2, 4.32 ERA)
Illinois: Phil Haig (LHP, 1-2, 6.39 ERA)

Game 4 Probables
Purdue: TBA
Illinois: Aaron Martin (RHP, 4-6, 6.75 ERA)

Last ILL Sweep: 1999 (3-game series) / 1998 (4-game series)
Last ILL 3-1 Series: 1996
Last Split: 2007
Last PUR 3-1 Series: 2003
Last PUR Sweep: 2000

Illinois is...
...21-6 when scoring first
...25-4 when out-hitting its opponent
...19-0 with a big inning (4+ runs)
...24-7 when not allowing a big inning
...22-5 when allowing fewer than 7 runs
...20-1 when scoring 8 or more runs
...24-1 when leading after 7 innings (5 in doubleheader)
...23-9 when making equal or fewer errors than opponent

Illini Line Drives
• Big Ten Tournament Breakdown: To qualify for the Big Ten Tournament, Illinois needs a total of two wins and/or Michigan State losses. Currently in third place, the Illini would have to sweep Purdue this weekend to grab the No. 2 seed in the tournament and the first-round bye that accompanies it.

• Rain, Rain Go Away: Six of Illinois' seven Big Ten series have been affected by inclement weather in some way, as only the Michigan series was completed in the traditional Friday-Saturday-Sunday format. The Michigan State and Minnesota series were played in two doubleheaders, the Indiana and Northwestern series were pushed back a day because of impending poor weather and the Friday games of the Penn State and Ohio State series were suspended and finished on Saturday. In addition, the finale at Ohio State was rained out.

• Manson Heating Up: Sophomore starter Kevin Manson is tied for second in the Big Ten with seven wins and holds a 7-1 record with a 5.51 ERA. He has won his last four starts and has been the beneficiary of excellent run support this year, especially in Big Ten play. He averages 9.2 runs of support per start and has received 10.3 runs in Big Ten play.

• Hudson Chasing History: Center fielder Kyle Hudson broke the Big Ten conference-games steals record during the Northwestern series and now needs only four steals to break the Illinois school record of 40, which Shawn Roof broke in 2007.

• Little RBI Guy, Indeed: Shortstop Brandon Wikoff has had an incredible season at the plate, hitting .397 with a team-best 56 RBIs and 11 doubles. Wikoff also ranks as the third-shortest No. 3 hitter in the country at a listed 5-foot-8 (see page 6 for full list). He has hit third in 43 games this season, compiling a .404 average there. In addition, he needs nine RBIs against Purdue to break the Big Ten record for RBIs in conference games.

• Illini Sparkle Under Lights: In only 12 night games this year, Illinois is 8-4 with a .356 batting average and 8.8 runs per game compared to 21-16, .337 and 7.3 in day games. Daniel Webb is hitting .523 and Joe Bonadonna holds a .480 average at night. That could bode well for the Illini against Purdue, as three of the four games will be at night.

• Hudson, Webb Best at What They Do: Center fielder Kyle Hudson and DH Daniel Webb lead all other Big Ten players at their positions with .409 and .404 averages, respectively. Second baseman Joe Bonadonna and shortstop Brandon Wikoff both rank second in average at their positions.

• Wikoff, McMurray, Bonadonna Become Three Amigos: Illinois earned a Big Ten Player of the Week honor for the third-straight week when Brandon Wikoff was named Co-Player of the Week on May 6. One week earlier, Casey McMurray earned the honor outright, and a week before that, Joe Bonadonna was named Co-Player of the Week. It is the first time in Illinois history and just the fourth time in Big Ten history that three players from the same school have been named consecutive Players of the Week in the same season.

• Walk-Off Winners: Sophomore catcher Aaron Johnson ripped a two-run walk-off home run to lift the Illini to a 10-9 victory in the series finale against Northwestern, Illinois' second walk-off homer this season. The other came courtesy of Daniel Webb against Akron when he blasted a walk-off grand slam for the 15-11 win. Overall this season, the Illini have five wins in their last at bat.

• Illini Break Road Wins Record: With one win last weekend at Ohio State, Illinois wrapped up the best conference road record in school history at 10-5.

• Illini Hit Parade: Illinois currently has the second-best team batting average in school history at .342, behind only the 1998 squad's .347 mark. This year's team also holds a .352 average in Big Ten play, second to 1998's .355 school record.

• Illini Shatter School Records: With four Big Ten games left in the season, Illinois already has broken the school record for doubles in Big Ten play with 58 (formerly 54 in 1994) and is likely to break the marks for hits, runs, RBIs, walks and stolen bases against Purdue.

• Five for Fighting: Five different Illini have collected five-hit games this season, the most in the Big Ten and most at Illinois since at least the 1996 season. Ryan Hastings notched the first one of the season when he went 5-for-6 in the series finale at Indiana, but recently Illini hitters have turned up the juice. Joe Bonadonna went 5-for-5 against Western Illinois on April 23, Daniel Webb was 5-for-6 and Casey McMurray went 5-for-5 in the opener against Penn State on April 25 and Brandon Wikoff was 5-for-5 against Northwestern on May 3.

• McMurray Takes Conference Honor: Freshman left fielder Casey McMurray hit a sizzling .733 (11-for-15) against Penn State to earn outright Big Ten Player of the Week honors. It marked the first time that an Illini freshman had earned the award since Craig Marquie on March 31, 1997. Coupled with Joe Bonadonna's honor the previous week, the duo earned the first consecutive awards by Illini since Drew Davidson and Dusty Bensko on April 5 and 11, 2005.

• Bonadonna Earns 2 Weekly Honors: Bonadonna was named to the College Baseball Foundation National All-Star Lineup and was the co-Big Ten Player of the Week after hitting a whopping .692 at Minnesota (9-for-13) and racking up seven straight hits over the final two games of the series. He scored four runs, drove in three and stole three bases. He continued his hot hitting in the midweek games, going 7-for-10 in two contests, including a five-hit game against Western Illinois.

• You Can Put it on the Board...Yes!: Illinois put up 49 runs in the Penn State series, the team's most since scoring 59 in four games against Northwestern May 6-8, 2005. The Illini's 20 runs in the first game against PSU also are the most in a Big Ten game since scoring 21 against the Wildcats in that 2005 series. Illinois followed that with 38 runs against Northwestern and now averages a Big Ten-best 7.8 runs per conference game.

• Stop Him Before He Steals Again!: Kyle Hudson leads the nation in steals per game with 0.8 per game and is fourth in total steals with 37. Hudson stole 20 bases in 21 games he played in during the month of April (20-for-24) and is 37-for-45 on the season, needing just four more steals to break Shawn Roof's school record of 40.

• Illini Good to Last At Bat: Illinois has an incredible 14 comeback victories this season out of 29 total wins with five triumphs in its last at bat. The Illini have beaten Northwestern, Minnesota, Indiana, Michigan State and Akron with a rally in their final time to the plate. Illinois notched two comeback wins against Northwestern, including a last-inning comeback keyed by Aaron Johnson's two-run walk-off homer in the series finale.

• Small Town Southern Man Catches Fire: Daniel Webb caught fire in the month of April, hitting .506 in 23 games with four homers, 28 RBIs and a .722 slugging percentage. Webb had 11 multiple-hit games in the month, including four three-hit games and a four-hit game.

• 52% 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 .515 clip, which leads the Big Ten, and is reaching base at a .530 clip to start an inning. After hitting second in his four previous games, Hudson returned to the leadoff spot in the final game against Northwestern.

• Wikoff a Tough Out: Shortstop Brandon Wikoff has been very consistent this season, collecting a hit in 41 of 49 games and stringing together hitting streaks of 10 and nine games. He was held hitless in consecutive games for the first time this season during the doubleheader with Penn State. His 75 hits and 56 RBIs have surpassed his freshman-year totals.

• Bonadonna Breaks Out: Joe Bonadonna is having a career year in his first year of playing every day. He currently is hitting .373 and also has reached new career highs in hits (66), runs (44), doubles (11), RBIs (31) and steals (25).

• Born to Run: The Illini continue to be one of the best base-stealing teams in the country, swiping 94 bags, which ranks 21st nationally. They average 1.92 steals per game, which is 20th. Illinois also ranks second in the Big Ten in steals and is averaging 1.85 stolen bases per conference game.

• Hudson & Bonadonna Make Like Bonnie & Clyde: The pair of Kyle Hudson and Joe Bonadonna have been running rampant on the basepaths this season, with Hudson stealing 37-of-45 bags, fourth-most in the nation, and Bonadonna swiping 25-of-31, which ranks 34th. They make Illinois one of just three teams in the country with two players in the top 35 base-stealers, along with Fordham and Cincinnati.

• Hudson Swipes His Way into History: Kyle Hudson broke the Big Ten single-season stolen base record for conference games on May 3 with his 20th steal in conference play, topping the record of 19 held by Shawn Roof and Michigan's Eric Rose.

• Hastings Named Finalist for Senior CLASS Award: Senior first baseman Ryan Hastings was named a finalist for the Lowe's Senior CLASS Award, which recognizes the top senior baseball player in the nation in the areas of classroom, competition, character and community. Fans can vote for Hastings online at http://baseball.seniorclassaward. com/public/men/vote.aspx through June 2 and will count for 25 percent of the total vote, with coaches, media and sponsors accounting for the other 75 percent.

• 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 stayed hot, raising his average to .338, a career high.

• Illini Fifth in Nation in Hitting: The Illini currently lead the Big Ten and are fifth nationally with a .342 batting average. Illinois also is second in the league with a .966 fielding percentage. Illinois leads the league in on-base percentage (.422) and ranks second in hits (565), slugging (.467), runs (377), doubles (99), stolen bases (94), walks (211) and walks allowed (179).

Illini Finish Regular Season by Hosting Purdue
Illinois wraps up the regular season by hosting Purdue in the final four-game series of 2008. The Illini and Boilermakers have split series to open conference play each of the last two seasons and Purdue won the teams' meetings in both the 2005 and 2006 Big Ten Tournaments, ending Illinois' season both years.

Illinois brings an 11-8 home record into the series, while Purdue is just 9-18 away from Lambert Field with seven of those wins coming in Big Ten play. Purdue has been a very streaky team, starting the season 0-9 then winning six in a row. After a 3-3 stretch, the Boilers won six straight, had a 2-3 string, won seven more in a row then lost five consecutive games before winning the third game of the series against Michigan State.

Purdue won series at Iowa and Ohio State, and dropped a series at Indiana. The Boilers also won home series against Northwestern, Penn State and Minnesota, and dropped two of three to the Spartans.

The Illini boast one of the nation's most potent offenses with a .342 batting average and 7.7 runs and 1.9 stolen bases per game, while Purdue hits just .301 as a team with only two regulars over .320 and scores 6.0 runs per game. In Big Ten play, Illinois averages 7.8 runs and the Boilers score 6.5.

Last Time Out: Ohio State
Illinois dropped two of three games at Ohio State in a series that was greatly affected by inclement weather. The Illini led, 7-2, in the Friday game thanks to a solid offensive effort and a stellar outing by Kevin Manson, before heavy rains forced the suspension of the game. When the game was continued on Saturday, Illinois held on for a 9-4 win. But the momentum turned in the doubleheader as Ohio State tagged Illini starter Aaron Martin for six runs in the sixth inning to ice a 9-2 victory after Illinois had gotten within one run with a tally in the top of the sixth. The Buckeyes kept rolling in the nightcap, fending off a seven-run fifth inning by the Illini by scoring 10 of their own in the bottom half in a 14-8 victory. Sunday's game was then cancelled because of heavy rains and tornado warnings in the Columbus area, giving OSU the series victory.

Last Year vs. Purdue
As it did in 2006, Illinois won the first two games of the 2007 series against Purdue before dropping the final two contests to split the series. The Illini held off the Old Gold and Black, 14-13, in a wild first game that featured 30 hits and nine pitchers between the two squads. Illinois cranked out a 9-4 win in game two thanks to a six-run third inning and a complete-game effort by starter Scott Shaw to start the doubleheader. But in the nightcap, the Illini bats went silent as Purdue's Ricky Heines outdueled Mike Stankiewicz in a 2-1 Boiler win. On Sunday, the Illini fell behind 7-2 after four innings and couldn't recover as Purdue split the series with an 11-6 win.

Illini Hitters: Career vs. Purdue
Only one Illini hitter with more than one at bat holds a career average of .300 or better against Purdue as Illinois' current hitters haven't fared well against the Boilers. Here's a look at how Illinois hitters have fared against Purdue.

Player	Avg	AB	R	H	RBI	2B	3B	HR
Stockwell	1.000	1	1	1	0	0	0	0
Altobelli	.444	9	1	4	0	0	0	0
Wikoff	.286	14	4	4	2	0	0	0
Hastings	.219	32	5	7	10	2	0	1
Hudson	.217	23	4	5	1	0	0	0
Lutes	.182	11	0	2	0	0	0	0
Bonadonna	.182	11	0	2	2	0	0	0
Webb	.133	15	2	2	2	0	0	0
Giller	.000	1	0	0	0	0	0	0

Home is Where the Hits Are...
Illinois' offense has found a spark at home, where the Illini have hit .386 as a team and scored 184 runs in 19 games, compared to a .311 average with 193 runs in 30 games away from Illinois Field. All seven Illini regulars are hitting .385 or better at home, with Daniel Webb's .533 mark leading the charge, compared to a .330 mark away from home. Aaron Johnson and Casey McMurray are the other two polarized batting averages, as Johnson is hitting .424 at Illinois Field and .222 in other stadiums, and McMurray is hitting .385 at home and .282 away from home. John Schlichter also has widely divergent batting averages, hitting .340 at home and .200 away from home, although he has just 35 at bats away from Illinois Field.

...But the Steals Come on the Road
While the Illini have hit much better at home, they have stolen 18 more bases in road and neutral games in 30 more attempts. Away from home, Illinois has stolen 56-of-77 bags, while they have taken just 38-of-47 at home, a disparity attributable to playing 11 more games away from Illinois Field. Kyle Hudson has stolen 23 bases on the road and 14 at home, while Joe Bonadonna has swiped 16 on the road and just nine at home. Brandon Wikoff has taken 7-of-8 away from Illinois Field and just 4-of-4 at home.

Illini Prove to Be Conference Road Warriors
Illinois has been road warriors in the Big Ten so far this season, tying the school record for conference road victories by going 9-3 in three series away from home so far this season. Below is a list of the teams with the most road Big Ten wins in school history:

Rk	Year	Wins
1.	2008	10-5
2.	2005	9-7
	2000	9-7
	1996	9-7
	1993	9-7
	1990	9-5

Illini Weather Watchers
This season has been plagued with some of the worst spring weather in recent memory, with chilly temperatures and consistent precipitation forcing a number of cancellations and postponements. In all, Illinois has had seven games cancelled, four games added to the schedule and five games postponed but eventually played. Below is a list of all of the Illini's games or series that have been affected by poor weather:

Date	Opponent	Weather	Games	Result
3/7-9	Texas Tech	Snow in Dallas	4 	Cancelled
3/20	N. Iowa	Rain	1	Cancelled
3/21	CCSU	Added game	1
3/24	Judson	Added game	1
3/25	Indiana St.	Rain	1	Moved to UI
3/28	Michigan St.	Snow	1	Played 2 DHs
4/4-6	Indiana	Rain	4	Series delayed
4/8	Bradley	Rain	1	Cancelled
4/9	Illinois Coll.	Added game	1
4/18	Minnesota	Rain	1	Played 2 DHs
4/23	W. Illinois	Added game	1
4/25	Penn State	Rain	1	Suspended
5/2-4	Northwestern	Rain	4	Series delayed
5/9	Ohio State	Rain	1	Suspended
5/11	Ohio State	Rain	1	Cancelled

*Complete series notes available