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University of Minnesota Athletics
#23 Minnesota - Illinois Blog
4/17/2009 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
#23 Minnesota faces the University of Illinois in Champaign, Illinois today at 6:05 PM. Minnesota enters the game tied for first in the Big Ten with Indiana at 6 - 2. Illinois is tied for third with Ohio State at 6 - 3. Minnesota comes in riding a five game win streak and have won seven of the past eight games. This series already has huge Big Ten playoff implications.
Taylor Vander Aarde, Director of Baseball Operations, will again be your blog host. If you have any questions or comments about Gopher Baseball, please send them to gopherbaseballblog@yahoo.com. Blog readers, please note the new email address! We encourage you to send us your questions and comments. The best will be put on the blog and/or discussed on the Gold Zone broadcast with Tom Witschen and Steve Geller.
Here are your starting line-ups for today's game.
Minnesota 1) Matt Nohelty DH 2) AJ Pettersen SS 3) Derek McCallum 2B 4) Mike Kvasnicka RF 5) Kyle Knudson C 6) Nick O'Shea 1B 7) Justin Gominsky LF 8) Eric Decker CF 9) Kyle Geason 3B SP) Chauncy Handran
Illinois 1) Joe Bonadonna CF 2) Casey McMurray LF 3) Brandon Wikoff SS 4) Dominic Altobelli 3B 5) Aaron Johnson C 6) Matt Dittman 1B 7) Pete Cappetta RF 8) Willie Argo DH 9) Josh Parr 2B SP) Phil Haig
6:05 PM - Phil Haig delivers the first pitch of the ball game to Matt Nohelty for a ball.
6:10 PM - Illini pitcher Phil Haig hails from Inver Grove Heights, MN. Haig graduated from Henry Sibley High School and was a quarterback on the Illini football team before joining the baseball team in January 2008. Haig, a 6-5 lefty, has had many quality outings this season. His best trip to the mound occured against #1 LSU to one run in seven innings pitched on March 6. Minnesota 0, Illinois 0, Top 1.
6:13 PM - Chauncy Handran takes the mound for the Gophers. Last week, Handran picked up his third Big Ten win in his third Big Ten start. He becomes the first Gopher to win his first three Big Ten starts since Glen Perkins did it in 2003. Minnesota 0, Illinois0, Bottom 1.
Jeff from Plymouth, MN writes:
I have enjoyed listening to the broadcasts of Steve Geller and Tom Witschen for awhile now. Please pass along my comliments to them. Thanks, Taylor.
Will do, Jeff. Steve and Tom have been quite the dynamic duo on the mighty 1220 over the years. You can listen to the tandem tonight on the Gold Zone.
6:20 PM - Mike Kvasnicka drills his fourth home run of the season. Kvasnicka has provided a ton of power for the Gophers out of the clean up spot. Kvasnicka second on the team in home runs and first on the team in doubles with 12. Minnesota 1, Illinois 0, Top 2.
6:34 PM - A large number of Illini fans have showed up to the game tonight. I estimate of well over 800 people have crowded into the grandstand and down the lines. The atmosphere tonight is great and we couldn't have asked for a better night. It is sunny and about 65 degrees. Minnesota 1, Illinois 0, Bottom 2.
Blog Trivia Question-
In 2005, Illinois hosted the Big Ten tournament. Minnesota won an elimination game against Ohio State with a walk-off home run. Who was the Gopher that hit that memorable home run? Minnesota 1, Illinois 1, Top 3.
6:43 PM - Derek McCallum continues to sizzle at the plate. McCallum hits his eighth home run of the season and fourth in the last three games. McCallum's shot was a line drive over the left field wall. McCallum has shown power to the opposite field all year as he also hit a round tripper to left field at Indiana. Minnesota 2, Illinois 1, Bottom 3.
6:48 PM - With his homer, McCallum also continues his hitting streak. He has hit safely in 18 games. McCallum's streak goes back to March 18 atainst UT - Arlington. Minnesota 2, Illinois 1, Bottom 3.
Blog Trivia Answer-
With the Gophers down by one run in the 2005 Big Ten tournament to Ohio State and facing elimination, Minnesota shortstop Joe Maciej drilled a 3 - 2, 2 out, two run home run over the right field fence to give the Gophers a walk-off victory. The game became an instant classic in Gopher history.
6:56 PM - The starting infield of Nick O'Shea, Derek McCallum, AJ Pettersen, and Kyle Geason have started every game for Minnesota this year. Their steady play has brought consistency to the line-up. The quartet is made up for three freshman and one junior (McCallum). We could see them together again for the 2010 seaosn, although McCallum's fantastic year has caught the attention of major league scouts. Minnesota 2, Illinois 1, Top 4.
7:05 PM - Derek McCallum entered the game tied for the Big Ten lead in RBI's and has added three more today. McCallum now has 47 runs knocked in on the season, 15 of which have come in the last three games. Minnesota 6, Illinois 2, Bottom 4.
Leslie from Sidney, Montana comments:
You guys are awesome! I'm so happy I can follow the games from afar!
Thanks, Leslie. We are glad to hear that you are keeping track of the Gophers in Montana!
Jon from Chanhassen, MN asks:
Will the Gophers beat able to play early season games in the Metrodome next with the football team moving on campus and the Twins moving to Target Field?
Thanks for the question, Jon. The answer is yes; the Gophers will be playing their usual early season non-conference schedule at the Metrodome. You can count on the Dairy Queen Classic coming back for its 26th edition during the last week in February. In fact, the Gophers will be playing in the Metrodome as long as it is standing.
7:19 PM - The Gopher offense is looking like it is clicking on all cylinders tonight. Minnesota has scored 19 runs in the past two games and has added six more tonight in only five innings. Minnesota 6, Illinois 3, Bottom 5.
7:22 PM - The Gopher baseball blog wants to send out a hello to Lisa Pettersen, mother of shortstop AJ Pettersen, who is back at home in Minnetonka, MN listening to the game. We will make sure to keep AJ in line this weekend, Lisa! Just kidding, AJ is a fantastic kid and a lot of fun to be around. Thanks for letting him play baseball for the Gophers! Minnesota 6, Illinois 3, Bottom 5.
7:27 PM - After that writing that last entry, blog host Taylor Vander Aarde is wondering how many parents will write me to get their name in the blog. Dug Out Club president Billy Soule claims he follows the blogs online so, Billy, here is your chance to prove it by sending an email to gopherbaseballblog@yahoo.com. Minnesota 6, Illinois 4, Bottom 5.
7:35 PM - The Illini will get their first look at freshman right hander Austin Lubinsky. Lubinsky has had a fantastic freshman year as he is leading the team in E.R.A at 1.71. Lubinsky has worked 21 innings, given up 18 hits, struck out 10, and walked just two. Lubinsky is Minnesota's only freshman pitcher and he looks to have a very bright future with the club. Minnesota 6, Illinois 8, Bottom 5.
7:48 PM - The blog faithful keep pouring in the emails as Julie Buske, Tom's mother, is following the game from Apple Valley, MN and so is Liv Rosin, Seth's mother from Shoreview, MN. Chauncy Handran's best friend, David Liebrand, is also keeping track of the Gophers in Colorado Springs, CO. We will need all of Gopher nation to help the team win this hard fought game. Minnesota 6, Illinois 8, Bottom 6.
7:51 PM - Kyle Geason continues to flash the leather as he turns in another spectacular play on a hard smash by Illinois' Josh Parr. Entering the game, Geason's fielding percentage was .948. Minnesota's infield defense as a whole has been very good this year. Minnesota 6, Illinois 8, Bottom 6.
8:02 PM - Hey Gopher fans! Matt Nohelty is up for the Lowe's Senior CLASS Award which is given to a collegiate baseball player that excels in four different areas: classroom, competition, character, and community service. The winner is chosen through an online poll. You can vote for Matt at the following website. Please click on it and vote for him. Remember, you can vote for him once per day! Minnesota 6, Illinois 11, Top 7.
http://www.seniorclassaward.com/vote/baseball_2009/?SPSID=38638&SPID=3298&DB_OEM_ID=8400
Jay-Bee from Minneapolis asks:
When was the last time the Gophers came back from a five run deficiet?
Hi Jay-bee. The last time Minnesota came back from five runs down was March 21, 2009 when the Gophers beat Dallas Baptist 11 - 9 in Dallas. One of the more notable comebacks in Gopher history was in the 1960 College World Series. Minnesota found themselves losing to USC by scores of 7 - 0 and 11 - 2. Minnesota scored ten runs in the final four innings to win the game and advanced to the semi-finals. Minnesota eventually won the 1960 College World Series after beating USC 2 -1 in 10 innings. Longtime Minnesota Twins Director of Minor Leagues was the winning pitcher, going all 10 innings.
8:16 PM - Minnesota has scored double digit runs for the ninth time this year. The Gophers have scored 10 runs or more seven times in the past 17 games. Minnesota 10, Illinois 11, Top 7.
8:33 PM - Interesting blog note: Illinois and Minnesota are tied in the all-time Big Ten record. Each team has 88 victories. They also have one tie. John Anderson is 60 - 50 against Illinois and Fighting Illini head coach, Dan Hartleb, is 8 - 7 versus the Gophers. Minnesota 10, Illinois 15, Bottom 7.
8:45 PM - Derek McCallum is now three for four on the night. McCallum has gone three for four in each of the past two games as well. He now has nine hits in his past 12 at-bats. McCallum also now has eight three-hit games this season. Minnesota 10, Illinois 15, Top 8.
8:57 PM - Minnesota heads to the top of the ninth inning with their five game winning streak on the line. Here are the scores of today's Big Ten games. Minnesota 10, Illinois 15, Top 9.
Penn State 9 at Indiana 7, Final
Iowa 3 at Northwestern 4, Final
Ohio State 1 at Purdue 0, Final
Michigan 7 at Michigan State 8, Final in 11 innings.
9:00 PM - Minnesota loses to Illinois in the first of a three game series at the University of Illinois in Champaign, IL. We will be back at it tomorrow with the first pitch at 3:05 PM.
Time of Game 2:55, Attendance 1,045
