Illinois Baseball: A Postseason Primer

We haven't really paid a whole lot of attention to Illinois baseball on this site since we debuted in late October, and we have reasons for that. First of all, without Illinois baseball games being televised regularly, it's very hard for somebody like myself, in Chicago, to follow along closely. I'm not going to write about a team based solely on statistics and results I can look up online because, well, that's not very interesting is it?

There's also the fact that amongst Illinois sports, baseball just isn't as popular as basketball or football. So it only makes sense that we'd pay more attention to those sports.

However, I think it may be time for that to change. You see, the Illinois baseball team is pretty good. That's why the Illini were chosen as an at-large berth for the NCAA Baseball Championships this weekend, as the Illini will be travelling to Nashville to take on Georgia Tech Friday afternoon. A game that will be televised online on ESPN3.

So if the team is good, maybe we should start paying more attention to them. I mean, following a winning team is a lot more fun than a losing one, isn't it?

So with that in mind, just in case you want to start paying attention to Illinois baseball too, here's a little primer for you about Illini baseball. Just some information that could come in handy for you while watching the Illini try to advance further in postseason play this weekend.

Basics

Record: 34-18

Big Ten record: 14-10

Manager: Dan Hartleb

RPI: 40th

Strength of schedule: 121st

Polls: CBN - Unranked, Coaches Poll - Unranked

Offensive Team Statistics (National Rank)

Batting Average: .298 (38th)

On-base Percentage: .377 (Tie-57th)

Slugging Percentage: .408 (51st)

Runs per game: 6.2 (Tie-51st)

Home Runs per game: .56 (64th)

Stolen Bases: 106 (18th)

Individual Offensive Leaders (National Rank)

Batting Average: Justin Parr .399 (Tie-8th)

On-base Percentage: Justin Parr .455 (Tie-69th)

Slugging Percentage: Justin Parr .583 (61st)

Runs scored: Jordan Parr 46 (Tie 175th)

Home Runs: Thomas Lindauer 9 (Tie-82nd)

Runs Batted In: Justin Parr 51 (Tie-74th)

Stolen Bases: Jordan Parr 23 (Tie-52nd)

Team Pitching & Defense Statistics (National Rank)

ERA: 3.62 (64th)

WHIP: 1.31 (51st)

Strikeouts per 9 Innings: 5.8 (Tie-220th)

Walks per 9 Innings: 2.97 (42nd)

K/BB: 1.97 (112th)

Fielding Percentage: .971 (Tie-70th)

Individual Pitching Leaders (National Rankings)

Wins: Kevin Duchene 8 (Tie 79th)

ERA: Kevin Duchene 2.69 (Tie-168th)

Saves: Bryan Roberts 7 (Tie-110th)

Strikeouts: Kevin Duchene 63 (Unranked)

Innings Pitched: Kevin Duchene 73.2 (No rank available)

Average Against: Kevin Duchene .258 (No rank available)

Likely Starting Lineup

1. Thomas Lindauer - SS

2. Michael Hurwitz - DH

3. Justin Parr - CF

4. Jordan Parr - LF

5. Brandon Hohl - 3B

6. David Kerian - 1B

7. Reid Roper 2B

8. Davis Hendrickson - RF

9. Kelly Norris-Jones/Jason Goldstein - C

Starting Rotation

1. Kevin Duchene

2. John Kravetz

3. Ryan Castellanos

4. Nick Blackburn

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