The Aurora University Baseball team received 7 of 11 first place votes as the 2011 preseason favorite in the Northern Athletics Conference.
Aurora returns three all-conference honorable mention players from last season, finished second in conference (16-6 in the NAC, 27-16 overall), won the conference tournament and advanced to the D3 Championship Tournament last season.
Rockford, last season's NAC co-champion, was picked to finish second in the 2011 preseason poll.
2011 NAC Coaches Preseason Poll:
1. Aurora University
2. Rockford College
3. Edgewood
4. Concordia Chicago & Concordia Wisconsin
6. Benedictine
7. Lakeland
8. Marian
9. Dominician
10. MSOE & Wisconsin Lutheran
12. Maranatha
Yesterday's players of the day from Illinois baseball teams.
The pitcher of the day goes to Chris Pack from the University of Illinois. Chris entered the game in the sixth inning down 2-1 and held Florida Gulf Coast scoreless the rest of the way. Illinois scored one in the eighth and five in the ninth to earn Chris his first victory of the season. Pack went 4 innings, gave up 4 hits, two walks and struck out four. Chris is from Benet Academy and lives in Darien IL.
 |
| Jared McIntosh |
Hitter of the day was close but the player of the day is Jared McIntosh from Augustana after going 2-4 with two triples, 4 rbi's, scored 3 times and walked once in the Vikings 16-5 victory over Rochester Institute in Winter Haven FL.
Jared lives in Davenport IA.
Other notable performances included a grand slam from Tyler McNeely of Illinois State University, a 5-5 day from Jeremy Juhl of Augustana College and a 3-3 day from Ty Wiesemyer of Illinois State.
Schaumburg authorities have served the Schaumburg Flyers Baseball Club their eviction notice on Thursday and the Flyers have until May 6th to either sell the team or move out of Alexian Field in Schaumburg Illinois.
The eviction order requires team ownership to pay more than $550,000 in overdue rent on the staduim. The order also issued a court order to return the lease to the village of Schaumburg and the Schaumburg Park District.
Flyers' ownership is continuing to work towards the sale of the 12 year old independent team.
Northern Illinois Baseball teams certainly have a disadvange when it comes to preparing their teams to compete early each spring.
Knox College baseball players went outside on February 15th but it wasn't to practice like most of the southern teams. Players were outside shoveling the snow off of the field and learning what it takes to perpare a baseball field for a practice and a game.
One of the Prairie Fire players, Zach Ricketts (Galesburg IL), will be working as a groundskeeper for the Boston Red Sox after he graduates in June.
Know will open their season on March 15th against St. Joseph's College of New York in Fort Meyers FL.
The Rockford RiverHawks announced yesterday the trade of former Frontier League Pitcher of the Year Paul Fagan to the Windy City ThunderBolts for two-time All-Star Jake McMurran.
McMurran was picked up by the ThunderBolts from the Southern Illinois Miners Baseball Club in a transaction in January 2011. McMurran went 5-1 last season with a 1.89 ERA and 3 saves with the Miners.
Fagan, who has never pitched with Rockford, won the 2009 Player of the Year award with Lake Erie and spent last season with three different independent teams.
Purdue University baseball's Barrett Serrato has been named the Big Ten Conference Player of the Week. Barrett, a junior from West Chicago IL, hit .667 leading Purdue to a 2-1 record in the Big East-Big Ten Baseball Challange over the weekend.
 |
| Barrett Serrato |
Shortstop/DH Serrato went 2 for 3 with a double and an rbi in game one, 1 for 2 with a triple and an rbi in game two and 3 for 4 with and rbi in game 3. Final stats for the weekend include an on base % of .700 and a slugging % of 1.000.
Senior outfielder Chris Murphy from Southern Illinois University Baseball was named the Missouri Valley Conference Player of the Week ending February 21st.
Chris went 7-13 for the Salukis in their opening weekend in the Louisana Tech Classic. Murphy had at least two hits in all three games as Southern Illinois posted a 2-1 record over the weekend. Chris also tied his career high with four rbi's and three hits against Nicholls State on Sunday.
 |
| Corn Crib |
The Normal CornBelters along with the Frontier league announced that the 2012 Frontier Baseball League will host the 2012 All-Star game at the Corn Crib in Normal Illinois.
The 2012 All-Star game will take place on July 11, 2012.
The All-Star game for this season will take place on July 13th, 2011 in Lake Erie Ohio and hosted by the Lake Erie Crushers.
The Rockford Foresters will again this season offer free tickets to unemployed workers. Fans that are unemployed must their Illinois Department of Employment Security paperwork and an ID in order to get two free tickets on game days.
The Foresters ran the same promotion last year and will continue to run this promotion until the unemployment lines go away.
For more info please follow the link below.
Free ticket for the unemployed
The Gateway Grizzlies will hold an open tryout on April 9th 2011 at GCS Ballpark in Sauget IL. Registration will start at 7:00 am. Cost is $50.00 per player. Players must be 20 years old or older but no players can be 27 years old as of January 1, 2011.
For more information please visit the Gateway Grizzlies website below.
Gateway Grizzlies information
Saturday Scores and game recaps for D1 Illinois baseball teams..
University of Illinois 7 Cincinnati 1
Josh Parr 2-5, double, 3 rbi's, Casey McMurray 2-5, 2 rbi's, Davis Hendrickson 3-4, Brandon Holl 2-4, Adam Davis 2-2, double. John Anderson pitched 5 innings for the win, gave up 1 earned run on 2 hits, Chris Pack earned the save.
Central Arkansas 14 Southern Illinois Edwardsville 4
DH Devin Caldwell 1-3, 2 rbi's, double, 3B Zach Hawkins, 1-3 2 rbi's, double. Luke Ingersoll suffered the loss on the mound.
St. Louis 17 University of Illinois Chicago 7
Ryan Shober 2-5, 1 rbi, Jason Ganek 2-5, 1 rbi, Joe Betcher 1-5, 2 rbi's, Jon Ryan 2-3, 1 rbi. Matt Healsip took the loss.
Texas Tech 6 Northwestern 1
Chris Lashmet, 2-4, 1 rbi. Jack Havey pitched 5 innings and took the loss.
Northwestern 3 Western Michigan 2
Kyle Ruchim 2-4, Chris Lashment 1-3, rbi. Luke Farrell earned his 1st victory on the mound pitching 6 innings, 8 strikeouts, 2 earned runs.
Lipscomb 4 Bradley 3
Jason Lebleijian 3-5, Justin Ziegler suffered the loss in the 13th inning.
Belmont 5 Illinois State 4
Belmont 6 Illinois State 3
Game 1 McNeely 1-3, HR, 2 rbi's, Menaker 1-3, HR. Losing pitcher - Weilebnicki.
Game 2 Colon 2-3, Tokarski 2-4, McNeely 1-2, 2 rbi's. JD Learnard sufferd the loss.
Southern Illinois Carbondale 4 Grambling State 3
Kollin Dowdy 2-4, 2 rbi's, Austin Montgomery 2-4, 1 rbi, Chris Murphy 2-4. Cody Forsythe earned the win pitching 7 innings with 5 K's.
Southern Mississippi 9 Eastern Illinois 1
Ben Thoma had the only rbi for Eastern, going 1-4. Adam Clark took the loss in 3.2 innings of work.
Samford 4 Western Illinois 0
Bryan Jordan 2-4, Ryan Wachholder suffered the loss pitching five innings and giving up two earned runs.
In the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin (CCIW) pre-season poll, Illinois Wesleyan was predicted to win the conference title in 2011.
The defending National Champion Titans (31-21, 12-9) finished fourth in the CCIW last season and earned an automatic bid to the NCAA D3 regional.
Voting is tabulated from the conference coaches, each coach has seven votes and cannot vote for their own team.
2011 Pre-Season CCIW Poll:
1. Illinois Wesleyan
2. Carthage
3. North Central
4. Wheaton
5. Augustana
6. North Park
7. Milikin
8. Elmhurst
February 18th, opening day for NCAA Division I baseball! Listed below is the opening day schedule for Illinois Division I baseball teams.
University of Illinois vs. Pittsburgh - Clearwater FL
Northwestern vs. Utah Valley - Lubbock TX
Eastern Illinois vs. Southern Mississippi - Hattiesburg Miss.
Southern Illinois Edwardsville vs. Central Arkansas - Conway Ark.
University of Illinois Chicago vs. St. Louis - Edinburg TX.
University of Illinois Chicago vs. UT Pan American - Edinburg TX.
Northern Illinois University vs. Southern Utah - Cedar City Utah (double header today instead of Saturday)
Illinois State University vs. Belmont - Nashville TN.
Bradley vs. Dayton - Nashville TN.
Southern Illinois Carbondale vs. Louisiana Tech - Ruston LA.
Western Illinois University vs. Samford - Birmingham Ala.
Listed are the top returning pitchers for NJCAA Division III baseball teams in Illinois in 2011. The list is sorted by 2010 earned run average and pitchers must have a minimum of 15 innings last season.
Top Returning Pitchers:
1. Cory Walden, Waubonsee Community College, 2-0 record, 2.97 ERA, 33 strikeouts in 33 1/3rd innings. Cory is from West Aurora High School and also plays 1B.
2. Chris Holke, Harper Community College, 3-3 record, 4.07 ERA in 31 innings pitched last season. Chris is from Barrington High School and is listed also as a catcher.
3. Ethan Johnson, Joliet Junior College, 0-0 record, 4.79 ERA in 20 2/3rd's innings. Ethan is from Plainfield North High School.
4. Dan Okapal, Waubonsee Community College, 3-2 record, 5.05 ERA in 46 1/3rd innings last season. Dan is from East Aurora High School.
5. Tyler Lobdell, Waubonsee Community College, 1-2 record, 6.04 ERA, 29 K's in 25 1/3rd innings. Tyler is from Plano High School.
6. Brett Evak, Joliet Junior College, 4-2 record, 6.34 ERA, 27 K's in 32 2/3rd's innings pitched. Brett is from Plainfield North High School.
7. Kenny Litrenta, Waubonsee Community College, 4-3 record, 6.51 ERA, 37 strikeouts in 47 innings pitched. Kenny is from Aurora Central Catholic High School.
8. Steven County, Rock Valley College, 2-1 record, 6.66 ERA in 24 1/3rd innings pitched last season. Steven is from South Beloit High School.
9. Luke Gilbertson, Waubonsee Community College, 3-3 record, 7.64 ERA in 33 innings last year. Luke is from Yorkville High School.
10. Jesse Pena, Waubonsee Community College, 2-2 record, 7.92 ERA, 30 K's in 30 2/3rd's innings last season. Jesse is from West Aurora High School.
The Windy City ThunderBolts have been busy updating their roster over the past few weeks with the most recent addition being first baseman Matt Huggins.
Huggins comes over from the St. George RoadRunners of the Golden Baseball League. Huggins hit .278 with 3 doubles and 3 triples in 20 games in 2010.
The TBolts also signed Kurtis Frymier, Brad Decater and Zach Piccola within the last two week.
RHP Frymier comes from the Oakland County Cruisers where he pitched 15 innings, collected 2 saves and struck out 14.
Decater is an infielder who played for the Bluefield Orioles, a rookie league team in the Appalachian League, hit .213 with 10 doubles and 11 rbi's in 45 games.
LHP Piccola spent the 2009 season with the ThunderBolts and makes his return from the Chicago White Sox organization (Kannapolis) in 2010 to Crestwood this summer. Piccola pitched in 21 games with Kannapolis with a 7.88 ERA and 33 strikeouts in 32 innings.
 |
| 1937 Buckey Team Photo |
In 1933 Shelby Himes, Jack Waldron and Dock Leedy started the Champaign County League and in 1936 the league name was changed to the East Central Illinois League. In 1936 there we ten teams in the league, Leverett, Royal, Flatville, Buckley, Sadorus, Thomasboro, Seymour, Chanute Field, 106th Calvary of Urbana, and Rankin.
Today, 75 years later, the league still continues with seven teams, two which have been in the league since it's inception - Flatville (Gifford-Flatville) and Buckley.
Listed are the top 10 returning 2011 NJCAA Division II players for Region 24 in Illinois. Players are sorted by batting average.
1. Infielder Ethan Westart, Illinois Central College, .454 batting average, 10 home runs, 52 rbi's. Ethan is from Brimfield High School and lives in Brimfield IL.
2. 1B Bobby Butvin, Lewis & Clark Community College, .450 batting average, 6 homers, 45 rbi's. Bobby lives in Mantua OH.
3. Outfielder Rennie Troggio, Danville Area Community College, .395 batting average, 2 homers, 32 rbi's, 27 stolen bases. Rennie lives in Lafayette IN.
4. Catcher Brent Kuper, Parkland College, .388 batting average, 2 home runs, 23 rbi's. Brent is from Highland High School and lives in Highland IL.
5. Outfielder Zac Zellers, Heartland Community College, .387 batting average, 13 home runs, 64 rbi's, 14 stolen bases. Zac lives in Fenton MO.
6. 1B Bobby Hansen, Danville Area Community College, .385 batting average, 4 homers, 52 rbi's. Bobby if from Plainfield South High School and lives in Joliet IL.
7. Utility player Kevin Dooley, Spoon River College, .382 batting average, 6 homers, 26 rbi's. Kevin lives in Normal IL.
8. Outfielder Joe Williams, John Wood Community College, .370 batting average, 4 homers, 50 rbi's, 17 stolen bases. Joe lives in Kirksville MO.
9. Shortstop Chaser Tood, Lincoln Land Community College, .364 batting average, 9 home runs, 41 rbi's. Chaser is from Jacksonville High School and lives in Jacksonville IL.
10. Infielder Zac Johnson, Heartland Community College, .358 batting average, 6 homers, 47 rbi's. Zac is from Normal Community High School and lives in Bloomington IL.
Former Pensacola Pelican pitching coach Justin Lord takes over the Southern Illinois Miner pitching staff for the 2011 baseball season.
Lord, who playing minor league ball in both the Royals and Pirates, spent the last two season with the Pelicans. Justin was the ace of the St. Paul Saints pitching staff in 2006 where he went 11-3 in 120 innings.
Lord replaces Bart Zeller who was named the manager of Joliet Slammers.
The McKendree University (Lebanon Illinois) Baseball Bearcats opened their 2011 season with a 10-6 victory over Louisiana College in Pineville Louisana. The rest of the weekend did not go as well as the Bearcats dropped the next three in a row to Louisiana 7-3, 8-4 and 5-3.
Highlights in the game one victory for the Bearcats - Kyle Moll (Mascoutah IL) went 3-4 with 3 rbi's, Andy Kuehn (Mascoutah IL) 2-3, double and 2 rbi's, Brandyn Snider (Fielden IL) and Rob Beatty (Milstadt IL) also added 2 rbi's. Jordan Law (Chatham IL) wound up picking up the victory on the mound in 2/3rd's innings of work.
The Lake County Fielders continue to make off season moves by trading outfielders Kevin Haas and Juan Valdes for pitcher Liam Ohlmann and catcher Justin Pickett.
Right handed pitcher Ohlmann, who spent one season with Florence, had an ERA of 2.97 with 78 strikeouts in 57 2/3rds innings last season.
Pickett hit .231 last year with 13 homers and 49 rbi's. Pickett, who is listed as a catcher, also plays both first and third base.
Robert Morris University Chicago baseball added former Major Leaguer John Cangelosi to it's coaching staff for 2011.
Cangelosi was drafted in the 4th round by the Chicago White Sox and played 13 seasons in the Major Leagues with several different teams. In 1997 Cangelosi was a member of the World Series Champion Florida Marlins.
Cangelosi also operates the Cangelosi Baseball Academy at Bo Jackson's Elite Sports Facility in Lockport.
Robert Morris starts their 2011 season in Mayfield Kentucky on February 25th against Hannibal LaGrange.
Harrisburg High School lands at #26 in the nation on the 2011 Easton National High School pre-season poll.
Harrisburg was the 2010 runner up last season going 40-1 with their only loss to Teutopolis in the championship game. The 2011 team returns four of it's five top pitchers along with a few position players. 3B/P Keelin Rasch, .471 batting average, 10 doubles, 9 homers and 50 rbi's, 6-0 on the mound with a 2.03 ERA. SS/P Ryne Roper, .417 batting average, 17 doubles, 6 home runs and 41 rbi's, 10-1 on the mound with a 1.89 ERA.
