The Illinois baseball team will have an enormous hole to fill this spring when it tries to complete the daunting task of climbing out of the Big Ten’s cellar. This summer, shortstop Eric Eymann announced he would transfer to Kansas State, ending a productive two-year career with the Illini in which he started 106 consecutive games.

“It was entirely his choice to transfer,” Coach Itch Jones said. “We gave him all the playing time he could ever want.”

Eymann’s bat will be missed in the middle of a lineup that left too many runners on base and had trouble scoring runs last season. The Omaha, Neb., native hit .290 with four homers and 32 RBI’s in 55 games. At the beginning of the year, Eymann struggled at the plate after tinkering with his batting stance. However, he hit his stride as the season progressed and was the team’s second best hitter in conference play, accumulating a .310 batting average in 32 games.

Eymann’s 2004 campaign was not nearly as productive as his 2003 freshman season in which he was named a Collegiate Baseball freshman All-American and was 9th in the Big Ten with a .359 average. He was also named second team All-Big Ten after leading the Illini with 71 hits.

Despite his impressive numbers on the field, Eymann was not necessarily a huge asset in the clubhouse.

“From a leadership standpoint, we are not losing much,” Jones said. “He was definitely not a team leader.”

Two early candidates to replace Eymann at shortstop are transfer Toby Gardenhire and freshman Joe Bonadonna. Jones is confident that the Illini have the personnel to fill the void left by Eymann’s departure.

“There is no doubt in my mind that we will be able to replace him,” Jones said.

OPEN TRYOUTS

The Illini baseball team will hold open tryouts for prospective walk-ons on Sept. 4 at 9 a.m. at Illinois Field. Anyone trying out must sign up at the Irwin Academic Services Center by Sept. 2.