FROM CBB NEWS SOURCE
PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Brandon Wikoff, Illinois
Jr., SS, Peoria, Ill./Limestone
Wikoff earns Illinois’ second consecutive Big Ten Player of the Week award and the program’s third in the last four weeks after leading the Fighting Illini to a weekend sweep over Northwestern to put the squad atop the conference standings. The shortstop hit .692 in the series to give Illinois its first back-to-back Big Ten series sweeps since 1999. He also slugged for an average of .923, recording multiple hits and scoring multiple runs in each contest. The junior opened the weekend series going 2-for-3 with two runs and an RBI with a double and a walk as Illinois won, 10-2. In Game 2, he went 3-for-5 at the plate, scoring two runs and driving in three with another double in a 15-12 victory. In the series finale, the Peoria, Ill., native was 4-for-5 with a pair of runs and three more RBI, hitting his fifth double in four days as Illinois earned the 9-0 win. Last week, Wikoff also recorded two hits, four runs, three RBI, two doubles, a triple and a homer over two non-conference games against Southern Illinois and Indiana State, giving him an overall average of .636 for the week with a .640 on-base percentage and a slugging average of 1.091. Over five games, he totaled 10 RBI and 10 runs with seven extra-base hits. The weekly award is the second of Wikoff’s career and the fifth for the Illinois offense this year.
Last Illinois Player of the Week: Willie Argo (April 27, 2009)
PITCHER OF THE WEEK
Alex Wimmers, Ohio State
So., RHP, Cincinnati, Ohio/Archbishop Moeller
Wimmers recorded the Big Ten’s second no-hitter of the season and the first nine-inning no-no in Ohio State school history by blanking Michigan in Game 2 of a doubleheader on Saturday. The sophomore registered 14 strikeouts in the outing, marking his sixth performance with double-digit Ks this season. The right-hander walked four batters in the game, but faced just one over the minimum as catcher Dan Burkhart, Wimmers’ grade-school and high-school teammate and friend, gunned down three would-be base-stealers. The performance gives Wimmers a Big Ten-leading 103 strikeouts on the season, making him just the ninth Buckeye in program history to top 100 Ks in a year. In addition to leading the conference in strikeouts, Wimmers also paces the Big Ten in opponents’ batting average (.193) and ranks among the conference’s best in ERA (2.71) innings pitched (80.2) and wins (8). Wimmers earns his fourth Pitcher of the Week accolade this season, while the honor is the sixth this year for the Ohio State pitching staff.
Last Ohio State Pitcher of the Week: Jake Hale (April 20, 2009)
