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Aug. 20, 2008

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. - A number of Fighting Illini finished their summer seasons with great success in recent weeks, as Casey McMurray's Santa Barbara Foresters won the National Baseball Congress World Series, Joe Bonadonna and Brandon Wikoff finished second in the Northwoods League playoffs with the Madison Mallards and Nick Stockwell led the Lombard Orioles to a second-place finish at the Stan Musial World Series. In addition, Billy Barrett's Glens Falls Golden Eagles finished second in the New York Collegiate Baseball League playoffs.

McMurray's Foresters won their second NBC World Series title in the last three years, with the Illini leftfielder seeing limited time in the series. He pinch-hit in the Foresters' opener, going 0-for-1. Stockwell, however, was one of the veteran team leaders for a very successful Lombard team. The Orioles went 25-2 in their Wisconsin State League season and reached the SMWS. After losing their first series game, Lombard marched through the elimination bracket to face the Northwest Wildcats, based in Houston, in the championship, with the Wildcats prevailing, 15-10. Stockwell scored five runs in the SMWS, which ranked fifth in the tournament, and had a .333 on-base percentage despite hitting just .158.

But the story of the summer for the Fighting Illini may have been the contributions made by Wikoff and Bonadonna to the Madison Mallards' squad. After winning the first-half championship in the NWL South Division, Madison struggled through the second half and finished the regular season 34-34 after going 12-23 in the second half of the season. But the Mallards were able to turn it on for the playoffs, sweeping the best-of-three first-round series with the Wisconsin Woodchucks to advance to the championship series against the Thunder Bay Border Cats.

Thunder Bay won the first game, 1-0, in Madison, but the Mallards fought back for a 4-3 win the next night in Thunder Bay. In the decisive third game, Madison scored three runs in the seventh and another in the eighth to take a 5-3 lead, but the host Border Cats scored three in the bottom of the eighth and Wikoff's two-out single in the ninth wasn't able to spark a rally as Thunder Bay won the title.

Wikoff hit a blistering .444 (8-for-18) with four runs, two RBIs and three walks in the playoffs, including a 5-for-11 (.455) championship series. He finished the season hitting .320 with 51 runs scored and 15 stolen bases. Bonadonna ended the year hitting .275 in 45 games with Madison and .263 overall, counting eight games with Duluth to start the season. Bonadonna stole 15 bases over the course of the season and finishes his NWL career as the league's all-time and single-season stolen base record holder.

Out east, Barrett helped Glens Falls to a second-place finish in the NYCBL playoffs, posting a 3.14 ERA, fourth-best on the squad, in 28 2/3 innings, allowing 27 hits and 18 walks with 19 strikeouts. Also in that part of the country, Matt Dittman hit .225 while playing in 35 of Lake Erie's game in the Great Lakes League and starting 29, slugging .315 and making only two errors.

Aaron Martin posted the fifth-best ERA in the Coastal Plain League at 1.48.

Heading south, the Fayetteville SwampDogs' Aaron Martin posted the fifth-best ERA in the Coastal Plain League with a 1.48 mark, allowing just 10 earned runs in 60 2/3 innings, which put him in the top 10 in innings pitched in the league. He struck out 30 and walked 20 with a .249 opponent batting average. Ben Reeser went 3-1 in nine appearances and seven starts with a 4.64 ERA, striking out 29 and walking only 12 in 42 2/3 innings. Nick Chmielewski had an up-and-down summer, going 0-1 with a 9.12 ERA in 17 appearances and 25 2/3 innings. He allowed just a .229 opponent batting average, but 19 walks and nine hit batters caught up to him. Illini teammate Daniel Parker, who played for the Wilmington Sharks, hit .153 in 32 starts, but was reliable in the field at both first and third base.

On the west coast, catcher Chris Montgomery hit .326 in 15 games with the San Diego Waves, going 14-for-43 with four doubles and eight runs. In the Boise Summer League, pitcher Mike Sterk went 6-0 in eight starts, as the Nampa Outlaws lost in the semifinals to eventual champion Meridian Bulldogs. Sterk had a 2.93 ERA, allowing 54 hits in 58 1/3 innings with a .239 opponent batting average.

Closer to home in Illinois, Wes Braun's Chicago Clout turned it on late in the season to advance to the National Amateur Baseball Federation World Series following a 4-1 performance in the regional tournament in Fort Wayne, Ind. Braun earned wins in two of the Clout's victories at the regional tournament and is 2-2 with two saves as the Clout's most-used pitcher with 18 appearances. He has a 1.71 ERA with a .193 opponent batting average, 58 strikeouts and 17 walks in 31 2/3 innings.

In the Central Illinois Collegiate League, Pete Cappetta hit .246 for the DuPage County Dragons, starting 38 of DuPage's 48 games in a variety of positions. He had four doubles, four triples and 18 runs while reaching base at a .335 clip. Also in the Chicago area, pitchers Lee Zerrusen and Blake Fairchild led the Crestwood Panthers to the NBC World Series, where they went 2-2. Fairchild had a solid start against the Oklahoma OK A's, earning the win with 6 1/3 innings in which he allowed three runs on five hits and three walks with six strikeouts. Zerrusen faced just one batter in the tournament, allowing a walk.

Mike Giller hit .270 and stole 22 bases for the Waterloo Bucks in the Northwoods League.

Back in the Northwoods League, Mike Giller had a strong summer for the Waterloo Bucks, hitting .270, which led the Bucks' everyday players, and scored 29 runs with 24 RBIs. He also stole 22 bases, which ranked in the top 10 in the NWL. He may have had the most interesting summer, playing five positions in the field, pitching three times and also serving as the Bucks' DH. Giller played shortstop in Waterloo's last six games, going 7-for-23 (.304) in that span.

In Rochester, Phil Haig posted a stellar 2.49 ERA and a team best-tying 5-3 record, tossing 68 2/3 innings over 11 starts. He allowed just 57 hits and 36 walks with 41 strikeouts and a .236 opponent batting average. Kevin Manson made just four starts for the Honkers, going 0-2 with a 3.71 ERA in 17 innings. Catcher Aaron Johnson hit .243 with 14 runs and 13 RBIs, walking 13 times and striking out 17 in 111 at bats. Outfielder Craig Lutes struggled at the plate, hitting .187 in 91 at bats, but he scored 13 runs thanks to 22 walks compared to 15 strikeouts for a .345 on-base percentage.

Illinois players return to campus this week, with individual workouts beginning soon. Fall practice opens Sept. 1 with walk-on tryouts.