Hey Grounds Crew, America’s favorite pastime is back!! Illinois baseball will take Illinois Field by storm this Spring led by Coach Dan Hartleb. Last year, the Illini finished 31-27 and advanced in the Big Ten Tournament. Their success was largely led by catcher Lars Davis who finished the season with a .400 batting average and was voted second team All-America and Big Ten Player of the Year. In the recent MLB draft, Lars Davis was taken with the 102nd overall pick by the Colorado Rockies and will forego his senior year of eligibility. The Illini were also led by returning junior starting pitcher Tanner Roark who went 8-2 with an ERA of 4.55 and was voted second team All-Big Ten.

While the Illini finished 5th in the Big Ten in 2007, they look to improve upon that mark for 2008. Along with key returning players like Roark, the Illini will rely on pitcher Scott Shaw who was second in wins, outfielder Kyle Hudson who was second in batting average and stolen bases as a freshman, and Ryan Hastings who was second on the team in slugging percentage and home runs. Even though the losses of key players like Lars Davis, Ryan Snowden, Mike Rhode, Shawn Roof, and Jake Toohey will be felt this season, 14 Illini baseball players participated in summer leagues to make this year the best ever for Illini baseball! So come opening day, get ready for hot dogs, sun screen, and a season filled with Illini success! See you at the ballpark!!

This entry was posted on Wednesday, July 11th, 2007 at 12:23 pm and is filed under Grounds Crew. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.