5/4- Wikoff Named Big Ten Player of the Week

Wikoff Named Big Ten Player of the Week Junior Earns Second Career Honor, Seventh by an Illini in 2009 PARK RIDGE, Ill. - Illinois junior shortstop Brandon Wikoff (Peoria, Ill.) was named the Big Ten Player of the Week, the conference office announced Monday. Wikoff hit a blistering .692 in Illinois series sweep at Northwestern, giving the Illini sole possession of first place in the Big Ten and collecting back-to-back Big Ten sweeps for the first time since 1999. The Illini also moved up to No. 25 in this weeks Collegiate Baseball poll. The honor is the second of Wikoffs career and the seventh by an Illini player this season, the most in a season in school history and tied for the most by any school in a season in Big Ten history. He also is the third Illini to earn the honor in the last four weeks. Wikoff slugged .923 on the weekend with multiple hits and multiple runs in each game over the weekend. He was 2-for-3 with an double, an RBI and two runs in Illinois 10-2 win on Friday, and went 3-for-5 with a double, three RBIs and two runs in the Illinis 15-12 victory Saturday. Wikoff finished the series by going 4-for-5 with his fifth double in four games, three RBIs and two runs as Illinois shut out the Wildcats, 9-0. He also added two hits, four runs, three RBIs, two doubles, a triple and a homer in a pair of mid-week games against Southern Illinois and Indiana State, hitting .636 with a 1.091 slugging percentage in Illinois five games. For the week, he totaled 10 RBIs, 10 runs and seven extra-base hits while collecting 14 hits, nearly three per game. The Illini return to action on Tuesday when they host Western Illinois at 6:35 p.m. and face Evansville Wednesday at 6:05 p.m. at Illinois Field. The Orange and Blue then hosts No. 27 Ohio State in a three-game weekend series, which begins Friday at 6:05 p.m. with the Bleacher Bum Barbecue, featuring free admission, free food for the first 1,000 fans, ticket giveaways to Cubs and Cardinals games and postgame fireworks. 2009 BIG TEN PLAYERS/PITCHERS OF THE WEEK Feb. 23 F: Nick Urban, Jr., MICH P: Eric Jokisch, So., NU Drew Rucinski, So., OSU March 2 F: Josh Parr, Fr., ILL Dan Burkhart, So., OSU P: Cullen Sexton, So., MINN March 9 F: Aaron Johnson, Jr., ILL Ryan LaMarre, So., MICH P: Ben Reeser, Sr., ILL March 16 F: Josh Phegley, Jr., IND P: Alex Wimmers, So., OSU Matt Jansen, Jr., PUR March 23 F: Justin Toole, Sr., IOWA P: Alex Wimmers, So., OSU March 30 F: Jake Goebbert, Jr., NU P: Will Strack, Fr., ILL April 6 F: Alex Dickerson, Fr., IND AJ Pettersen, Fr., MINN P: Nolan Moody, Sr., MSU April 13 F: Matt Dittman, So., ILL P: Eric Arnett, Jr., IND Alex Wimmers, So., OSU April 20 F: Derek McCallum, Jr., MINN P: Jake Hale, Sr., OSU April 27 F: Willie Argo, Fr., ILL P: Chris Fetter, Sr., MICH Tom Buske, Sr., MINN May 4 F: Brandon Wikoff, Jr., ILL P: Alex Wimmers, So., OSU