Sections

Slugging shortstop leads Fighting Illini

Two and a half years ago, a motor scooter accident almost ended his baseball career.

Today, he leads the Big Ten in home runs and runs batted in, and is in the top 10 in 13 of the conference's offensive categories.

Meet Josh Klimek, starting shortstop and slugger extraordinaire for the Fighting Illini.

Klimek has propelled his team into second place in the Big Ten, with a 8-3 record in the conference and an 18-12 mark overall. Only Michigan is ahead of Illinois in the league, by a half game.

The Illini are scoring an average of 7.27 runs in each conference game, thanks in large part to Klimek, who is averaging 2.27 RBI per contest through this past weekend.

Hard to believe Klimek sat out the entire 1994 season recovering from the broken leg and shoulder injury he suffered when his scooter crashed in November 1993.

Looking over the sheets of Big Ten offensive statistics, it's easier to count the categories Klimek does NOT appear in. There are only two: triples, and triples per game.

"He's tearing things up," Illinois outfielder Danny Rhodes said.

Rhodes said he's not surprised to find Klimek's name peppered throughout the Big Ten's leader board.

"I knew he would be up there," the sophomore said. "He's a tremendous leader and ballplayer. He works the hardest on the field, and (Klimek) is bringing our team as far as it's come this year."

Not that the success in the conference comes as a shock: counting all Illinois' games, Klimek leads the nation in RBI, with 61.

"I expect Josh to be a good player," Illini coach Richard "Itch" Jones said.

Undoubtedly much to the chagrin of Illinois' future conference opponents, Jones said he can't see Klimek's hot pace at the plate cooling off anytime soon.

"There's no reason for it to stop," the sixth-year coach said.

Jones and Rhodes also concurred on Klimek's defensive abilities.

"He's an outstanding defensive player, with an exceptionally strong arm," Jones said, pointing out that Klimek went through the 1995 Big Ten regular season without a fielding miscue.

"His defense is unbelievable," Rhodes said. "He's got a rifle (arm), and the softest hands I've ever seen."

For his efforts in the last week, the St. Louis native was named the Big Ten's Athlete of the Week. Klimek batted a monster .550 while the Illini won four of six.

With 17 round-trippers in 30 games, Klimek is already within two dingers of the team's single-season record. And given that he's taking a pitch deep at a rate of more than half a homer per game, it's safe to say Klimek will own that mark by the Ides of April.

Unfortunately for Klimek and the second-place Illini, they have no regular-season date with the Wolverines to look forward to. If the two teams are to meet head-to-head, it will have to be in the Big Ten tournament, May 16-19.

Jones said he's looking forward to playing Michigan if both teams finish the season in the top four of the league and make the conference playoffs. The off-kilter Big Ten schedule accounts for the teams not meeting this year.

"You can only play what you have," Jones said. "We may see Michigan down the line."