Eastern Illinois University Athletics

2010: Ruff pitched in 13 games, all in relief, and saw action in eight other contests… started four times at catcher, including the final two games of the Belmont series, the nightcap of the South Florida doubleheader and the spring break trip game against Akron… his first hit of the season was a solo home run in the middle game of the Belmont series… also walked, stole a base and executed a sacrifice bunt in that Belmont game… went 1-for-3 with a pair of walks and a run scored in the victory in the nightcap of the South Florida doubleheader… struck out a pair of in each of his final three appearances of the season… allowed eight of 14 inherited base runners to score… worked a season-high inning and two-thirds of relief at Southern Illinois… pitched a scoreless seventh inning in the regular-season finale against Southeast Missouri.

JUNIOR COLLEGE: Ruff played his first two collegiate seasons at Parkland College in Champaign, Ill., helping Parkland win the 2009 NJCAA Division II World Series… hit eight home runs and 11 doubles as the starting catcher.

HIGH SCHOOL: he played for coach Bob Kostuch… also played football and basketball… played for the Melrose Indians, his latest summer league team.

PERSONAL: No. 1 sports highlight was winning JUCO World Series at Parkland… his grandfather Richard, who played professional baseball for the St. Louis Browns, has been a major influence on his sports career because “he brought me up with baseball and played it his whole life”… most admires all retired baseball players because “I look up to all the old players”… his father played basketball at Northeastern Illinois University in Chicago… son of Richard and Janet Ruff… MAJOR: Kinesiology with a Teacher’s Certification.