One undeniable difference between boys and girls  contributing to the gender equity fuss  is that so many guys believe, down deep, that they can play baseball.

   Illini coach Itch Jones had 125 of these wanna-bes clamoring for batting cage swings last fall.

   Think about it. That''s 14 teams.

   "We kept about five of those players," reflected Jones Saturday. "D.J. Svihlik showed he was a battler, and I remember helping him with his pivot at second base. But I really didn''t spend much time with him."

   Walk-on Svihlik has Jones'' attention these days. The freshman second sacker batted in a run in each of his three at-bats in Saturday''s 8-2 defeat of Northwestern, capping his big day with his fourth homer. Checking in with a .360 batting average as a late-season starter, this rookie provides a major surprise for unsuspecting pitchers who think they can throw down-the-middle fast balls to the last batter.

   "He''s all guts," said Jones. "He had two teeth knocked out and a bunch of stitches in his upper lip against Purdue (April 5), underwent surgery that night, and he was right back out there taking ground balls the next day."

Hockey, military background

   Svihlik''s attitude was forged by a police officer father, a hockey background and military training.

   Dad Dennis J. Svihlik Sr. gets credit for D.J.''s southpaw swing. The Parma, Ohio, officer grew weary of chasing his young son''s whiffle-ball shots into a wooded area, so he turned D.J. around so his pulled strokes would bounce against the house.

   "That''s how I became a left-handed swinger," said D.J.

   As for why he left Garfield Heights (near Cleveland) for Indiana''s Culver Military School, Junior explained:

   "I was a defenseman in hockey, and I really loved it. Culver Military was a national power and my folks basically let me do what I wanted. So I went to Culver where it was up at 6:30 a.m., march to breakfast, stand for personal inspection, attend church every Sunday and hold weekend parades."

   He played on four straight state champions in hockey, but emerged last summer as a better baseball player. He quashed thoughts about the Naval Academy and was looking for his best baseball opportunity when he took an unfortunate hit on the right elbow, reducing his notoriety. It wasn''t until late July that Jones'' coaching assistant, Dan Hartleb, saw him and attracted him as a walk-on.

   Svihlik lasted less than four innings in his first start against Purdue April 5. A wicked grounder sent one tooth through his upper lip. Another was found in his gum. Three sets of stitches were needed, and his teeth were wired back together. Jones was still searching for infield help two weeks later when he turned again to Svihlik, and D.J. has been a tremendous part of the ongoing 10-game win streak.

Illini a team without stars

   Svihlik is representative of an Illini team without individual stars but suddenly solid top to bottom. There is no pitcher with the fire of John Ericks, but the staff has depth. There is no Darrin Fletcher behind the plate, but a solid team leader in Aaron Nieckula. There is no one with the power of Josh Klimek, the entire team showing just 45 dingers to Klimek''s 26 last year, but the ninth-place hitter is as hard to get out as leadoff man Todd McClure.

   Fact is, if scouts have swarmed to see these Illini in recent years, they aren''t in 1997. Nobody is holding his breath in anticipation of the June draft.

   "The main thing," said Svihlik, "is that we''re rolling and we have put ourselves in a position to reach the playoffs. We believe that we can''t lose. Once that happens, it becomes a mindset and every guy on this team will do anything to win the game."

   Don''t get the idea it''s automatic. They were seriously in arrears on two occasions at Minnesota before turning it into a four-game sweep. They spotted Northwestern two first-inning runs in each of the first three games of the current series, and trail by those two runs in the third inning of the suspended game that resumes at noon today.

   But the Illini have two on and none out, and the heart of the order coming up ... and if there is one major difference between the March Illini and the May Illini, it is the ability to make solid contact in the clutch. Now 15-11 and with a real chance to reach the four-team Big Ten playoffs, they''ll get one final chance to show that special quality again this afternoon.

   Loren Tate writes for The News-Gazette.