Former CICL Team Owner and College Coach Passes Away
Long-time baseball coach and CICL team owner Galen Woods passed away at home on September 25, 2008, surrounded by his family. Woods was the head baseball coach at Millikin University for 17 years from 1974-1989 and started the Decatur Blues franchise of the CICL in 1986 and operated the Blues for 15 years from 1986-2000.
Galen will be sorely missed by those lucky to have know him, and in this writer's case lucky to have been one of his sons.
Woods is survived by his wife of 57 years, Rita, four children Mike, Susan, Eric and Charley, and 14 grandchildren.
So long, Woods. I am sure the dugouts in Heaven are already enjoying your wit and humor. And that our beloved Cubs are finally champions.
Posted by Mike Website @ 5:19 PM
Monday, September 8, 2008
175th Alum to Major League
Designated hitter Randy Ruiz made his Major League debut for the Minnesota Twins on August 1 against the Cleveland Indians. Ruiz was called up by the Twins from Rochester of the International League and is batting .296 as of this writing in 54 at-bats for the Twins.
Ruiz is from the Bronx, New York, and attended Bellevue Community College. He played for the Dans in 1999 and batted .333 in limited appearances, and was later signed as a nondrafted free agent by the Cincinnati Reds that year. Ruiz had earlier been drafted by the New York Mets in the 1996 draft.
In addition to the Twins and Reds, Ruiz has also played in the organizations of the Baltimore Orioles, St. Louis Cardinals and Philadelphia Phillies.
Posted by Mike Website @ 9:14 PM
Sunday, August 24, 2008
174th Alum Makes CICL Debut
First Baseman Adam Rosales made his Major League debut for the Cincinnati Reds on August 9 against the Houston Astros. Rosales was called up by the Reds from Louisville of the International League after placing Jerry Hairston, Jr, on the 15 day Disabled List.
Rosales played shortstop for the Quincy Gems in 2003 and 2004, starting all 42 games for the Gems each season. In 2003, Rosales batted .209 with 1 homer and 6 RBI and in 2004, he batted .216 with 3 homers and 20 RBI.
Rosales is from Park Ridge, Illinois, and attended Western Michigan University. He was drafted by the Reds in the June, 2005, draft.
Posted by Mike Website @ 9:46 AM
Friday, August 15, 2008
2008 Post-Season Awards
CICL Coaches voted the following post-season awards for the 2008 season:
Mike Schmidt Player of the Year - Dan Kaczrowski (Danville)
Pitcher(s) of the Year - Bryce Shafer (Springfield) and Brad Riegler (Dupage)
Galen Woods Fireman - Logan Mahon (Springfield)
Top Pro Prospect - Tyler Hess (Danville)
All-Stars by Position
3B - Jimmy Swift (Springfield)
SS - Jon Myers (Quincy)
2B - Vicente Cafaro (Springfield)
1B - Phil Wunderlich (Dupage)
Catcher - Matt Behren (Dupage)
Outfield: Kurtis Muller (Quincy)
Dennis Vaughn (Springfield)
Ryan Ashe (Springfield)
Coach of the Year - Pete Paciorek (Danville)
Posted by Mike Website @ 10:04 AM
Friday, August 15, 2008
Sliders Win 2008 Playoff 5-2 over Dans
The Springfield Sliders capped an outstanding inaugural season by defeating the Danville Dans 5-2 in the rubber game of the 2008 three-game playoff series in Springfield on Thursday evening.
The playoff title is the first for a CICL team from Springfield since the Springfield Rifles captured the crown in 1993.
Starting and winning pitcher Jonas Dufek pitched 6 strong innings allowing one earned run on 3 hits, and Logan Mahon earned the save by finishing the game with 3 strong innings of his own, allowing the Dans an earned run on 2 hits.
Springfield struck offensively in the 1st with a 2-out blast over the left field wall by Ryan Mooney. Then in the 3rd, again with 2 outs, Vicente Cafaro and Ryan Mooney both drew walks. Andrew Quinnette laced a single to center scoring Cafaro. The next batter for Springfield was Denny Vaughn who hit a 3-run blast out of the park to right field to give the Sliders a lead they wouldn't give up.
The Sliders offense was led by Dennis Vaughn who was 2-4 with a homer and 3 RBI. Brian Mooney was 1-2 with a homer and RBI and Andrew Quinnette was 1-4 with an RBI.
For Danville Chris Licon came in relief in the 4th and pitched 5 shutout innings. The CICL's leading hitter, Dan Kaczrowski, had a RBI double and John Dishon also had a RBI Single.
Springfield's Andrew Quinnette was selected Tournament Most Valuable Player. Andrew had the winning hit in game 1 with a two-run homer and his hit tonight broke a 1-1 tie to give the Sliders a 2-1 lead, which they would never relinquish.
The Tournament Most Valuable Pitcher was Danville's Matt Bywater, who pitched 8 shutout innings, fanning 8 and allowing only 1 hit in Danville's 2-0 win on Wednesday evening.
A complete box score and play-by-play will be published on the web site on Friday.
Posted by Mike Website @ 12:10 AM
Wednesday, August 13, 2008
Dans Even up Series by Beating Sliders 2-0
Danville left-hander Matt Bywater and reliever Lee Swindle combined on a three-hit shutout as the Dans beat the Springfield Sliders 2-0 in Game 2 of the CICL postseason tournament series at Danville Stadium.
Danville's victory forces a third and deciding game in the best-of-three series on Thursday night at Lanphier Stadium. First pitch is set for 7:05 p.m.
Bywater (4-4) allowed just one hit over eight innings and he tied his season-high with eight strikeouts. Swindle got the final three outs, but it wasn't without some excitement.
Springfield's Matt Lenski led off the ninth with a line drive single to right. Swindle got Elliot Soto on fielder's choice and Ryan Ashe struck out. With two outs and runner on first, Sliders second baseman Vincente Cafaro single to right to put runners on first and second. Swindle closed the game by striking out Springfield's Andrew Quinnette, who was the Game 1 hero with a two-run homer in the first.
The Dans scored the only run that their pitchers would need with back-to-back doubles in the third inning from Brooks Kimmey and Zach Walters. Danville added an important insurance run in the eighth inning when Kimmey and Walters get things started again with back-to-back singles. Chris Lewellyn followed with a sacrifice bunt and Dan Kaczrowski delivered a sacrifice fly to center giving the Dans a 2-0 lead.
The probable starters for Game 3 are John Foley for the Dans and Jonas Dufek for the Sliders.
Posted by Mike Website @ 10:35 PM
Wednesday, August 13, 2008
Springfield Takes Playoff OPner from Dans 2-1
The Springfield Sliders took the first game of the 2008 CICL Championship from the Danville Dans by a final score of 2-1. All of the offense took place in the first inning when Andrew Pollack drove in Jon Lilly to give the Dans a short-lived lead. The Sliders answered back by way of a two-run homer by freshman Andrew Quinnette, also scoring Ryan Ashe.
Springfield's Bryce Shafer earned the win. The Valparaiso freshman tossed six innings, struck out six and walked one. Shafer upped his record to 6-1 for the season.
Danville's Austin Ross tossed a complete game. The LSU Tiger struck out five during his eight innings pitched.
Pollack stroked three hits for the Dans, leading all hitters, while Ashe had the only multi-hit performance for the Sliders.
The game lasted only two hours and ten minutes. It featured strong pitching and several double-plays turned by each team. In the sixth inning, Ashe threw out Pollack as he tried to score from second base on a Rich Goodenow single up the middle. The red-shirt freshman-to-be rifled a strike to catcher Matt Lenski who did an outstanding job blocking the plate and applying a tag to keep the Sliders' narrow lead.
The Sliders could wrap up their first CICL Championship with a win at Danville on Wednesday. That game will start at 6:30 p.m. CDT. A Danville win will force a winner-take-all game to be played in Springfield on Thursday.
Posted by Mike Website @ 6:33 AM
Sunday, August 10, 2008
Player/Pitcher of the Second Half
The Player of the Second Half of the 2008 CICL season is the same player that earned the first half award, Danville Dans second baseman Dan Kaczrowski. In the second half, Kaczrowksi led the league in batting at .375 (39-104), led in runs with 24, led in hits with 39, was 2nd in total bases with 48, 2nd in on-base percentage at .445, 5th in slugging at .462, was 2nd in stolen bases with 9 and was 8th in RBI with 15 despite batting leadoff or 2nd in most of the games of the second half. The right-handed hitting second baseman finished the regular season leading the league in batting at .402, leading in hits with 78 (a new league record, with at least 2 tournament games left to play) and leading in on-base percentage at .463. Dan is from St. Anthony, Minnesota, and will be a senior this fall at Hamline University in St. Paul, Minnesota.
The Pitcher of the Second Half for 2008 is Danville Dans right-hander Chris Licon. In the second half, Licon was 4-0 with an impressive 0.30 ERA to lead the league in both categories. He was 2nd in the league in innings with 30, 2nd in batting average-against at .189 and was 2nd in strikeouts with 26. Licon joined the Dans in late June just before the start of the second half. He is from Pomona, California, and will be a sophomore this fall at Orange Coast Community College.
More awards will follow this week, all to be selected by the CICL Field Managers and Coaching Staffs:
Mike Schmidt MVP Award
Top Pitcher Award
Galen Woods Fireman Award
Pro Prospect Award
Coach of the Year
Post-Season All-Stars by Position
Posted by Mike Website @ 12:34 PM
Sunday, August 10, 2008
Player/Pitcher of the Week for Week Ending August 10
The Players of the Week for the 9th and last week of the regular 2008 season are Thomas McCormick of the Quincy Gems and Elliott Soto of the Springfield Sliders.
For the week, McCormick led the league in total bases with 16, led in hits with 9, led in doubles with 4, was tied for 2nd in runs with 4, was 5th in slugging at .667, 7th in batting at .375 and was one of 5 players who homered during the week . An outfielder from Kingwood, Texas, McCormick will be a senior this fall at Missouri Science and Tech in Rolla, Missouri.
The Springfield Sliders played only 3 games during the week, but in those games Elliott Soto was 7-10 for a .700 batting average. Soto was 3rd in slugging at .700, 1st in on-base percentage at .700 and tied for 3rd in hits with 7. An infielder, Soto is from Algonquin, Illinois, and will be a sophomore this fall at Creighton University.
The Pitcher of the Week this week is right-hander Chris Licon of the Danville Dans, who claimed two victories this week during the Dans stretch drive to the second half title. Chris started and won a game against the Springfield Sliders on August 4, going 6 innings and allowing only a single unearned run on 5 hits while fanning 6 in the Dans 7-1 victory. Four days later on August 8, Licon came in in relief and pitched 4 shutout innings while allowing only 1 hit, fanning 6 more as the Dans and Licon earned a 4-3 victory, clinching the title with the win. Licon is from Pomona, California, and will be a sophomore this fall at Orange Coast Community College.
Posted by Mike Website @ 11:24 AM
Saturday, August 9, 2008
Springfield Nips Gems 6-5 in Regular Season Finale
The Springfield Sliders defeated the Quincy Gems 6-5 tonight in Springfield. Tyler Goodro led the Gems with two hits while Oliver Palmer and Andy Petz each added doubles. Quincy finished the season 21-27.
The Sliders were led offensively by Elliot Soto's 4 hits. Logan Mahon picked up his 6th win of the season and Dan Marcacci finished the game to get his 4th save of the year. The Sliders ended their regular season with a CICL best record of 30-17.
Springfield will host Danville in the opening game of the best-of-three CICL championship series on Tuesday. First pitch is set for 7:05
Posted by Mike Website @ 11:48 PM
Saturday, August 9, 2008
Dragons Defeat Dans 3-0
Dupage got a dominant performance from lefty Ryan Copeland to close the season out with a win over Danville Saturday night in Lisle by the score of 3-0.
Copeland went seven and a third scoreless innings as the Dragons closed out the '08 campaign with a victory over the second half champions Dans. Phil Wunderlich belted his second home run of the season to lead the offensive attack.
Posted by Mike Website @ 11:02 PM
Friday, August 8, 2008
Dragons Defeat Sliders 4-2
The DuPage Dragons defeated the Sprigfield Sliders tonight 4-2. The Dragons were paced by starting pitcher Brad Reigler who threw all nine innings. Dupage got all of the offense they needed in the second inning scoring three runs on hits by Phil Wunderlich, Pete Cappetta, Scott Sexton, and Brian Reigler. Springfield did strike back in the fourth with a 2-run homer by Vicente Cafaro. DuPage then ended the scoring in the fifth with a Mark Noth RBI fielder's choice. The Sliders threatened in the ninth getting the winning run to the plate but Reigler got the final Springfield batter to fly out to left field.
The Sliders are home tomorrow against Quincy with a 7:05 first pitch. DuPage hosts Danville in Lisle tomorrow with game time also at 7:05.
Posted by Mike Website @ 11:23 PM
Friday, August 8, 2008
Dans Clinch Second Half Title
The Danville Dans clinched the CICL second-half title with a 4-3 win over the Quincy Gems on Friday night at Danville Stadium.
Danville second baseman Dan Kaczrowski went 2-for-4 to tie a CICL record for hits in a season. Kaczrowski has 77 hits on the season, tying the mark of Denny Mantick, who played for Peoria in 1975.
Right-hander Chris Licon threw four scoreless innings of relief to get the victory for the Dans and he improved to 4-3 on the season, Greg Houston pitched the final two innings to pick up his fifth save.
The Dans overcame a 2-1 deficit with single runs in the fourth, sixth and seventh innings to take a 4-3 lead. Danville's Jon Lilly, who went 2-for-4, had an RBI single in the fourth, Dan Evatt drove home David Worthington, who went 2-for-4 with his fourth triple on the season, in the sixth and Chris Lewellyn's two-out single to center scored Zach Walters.
Quincy's Zach Gerler went 3-for-4 with an RBI triple in the second. Other Gems with multiple hits were Kurtis Muller with two singles, Jon Myers had two singles and Andy Petz had two singles.
Danville concludes the season at DuPage on Saturday night, while Quincy ends the year at Springfield.
The Dans will face the Springfield Sliders, the first-half champions, for the CICL tournament series. The first game of the best-of-three series between Springfield and Danville will be Tuesday night in Springfield at Robin Roberts Field, the second game will be Wednesday night at Danville Stadium.
Posted by Mike Website @ 10:07 PM
Thursday, August 7, 2008
Thursday's Results
In Huntingburg, Indiana, Thursday evening, the game between the Bombers and Danville Dans was suspended after the 4th inning due to a power outage that could not be expediently repaired. The score at the end of 4 innings is Dubois 2, Danville 1. If the game is ultimately important to determining the second half winner, it has been rescheduled for Sunday, if necessary. Statistics and the box score for this game will be posted Sunday if completed or as soon as the game is canceled, whichever comes first.
In Quincy, the Gems were able to scrape together a 4-1 win over the DuPage Dragons on Thursday night in the Gems final home game of the 2008 season. Quincy managed just three hits in the first six innings but benefited from four Dragon errors.
Thomas McCormick, who has recently found his stroke with six hits in the last two games, doubled to lead off the third inning. After back to back errors McCormick would score on a double play to put Quincy up 1-0. The Gems added another run in the fifth inning when Alex Acheson walked to start the fifth and would score two batters later on a RBI single by Kurtis Muller.
DuPage got on the board in the sixth on a solo home run by Matthew Brewer to make the score 2-1. The Gems got that run back in the bottom of the seventh when McCormick, who had singled, scored on a wild pitch. The runs continued in the seventh when Tyler Goodro doubled home Jon Myers and gave Quincy a 4-1 lead.
Posted by Mike Website @ 9:31 PM
Thursday, August 7, 2008
Springfield Clinches Overall Record Title
In its inaugural season, the Springfield Sliders have now clinched the title for best overall record for the 2008 CICL season.
Having won the title of the first half with an astounding 20-4 record, the Sliders already earned a spot in the post-season playoffs. With the best record overall, the Sliders will have the home field advantage in that best-of-three playoff series.
Springfield will host the opening game of the series on Tuesday night, August 12, as well as the "if necessary" game on Thursday night, August 14. The Sliders opponent in the series, which will be the winner of the second half, has yet to be determined.
Posted by Mike Website @ 8:01 AM
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