The Bo Durkac Show
NORMAL, Ill. – The Illinois State baseball team will begin a stretch of playing eight games over 10 days when it heads to Bowling Green, Kentucky, to open a three-game series at Western Kentucky on Friday at Nick Denes Field.
The Redbirds and Hilltoppers will play at 3 p.m. on Friday, and at 1 p.m. on both Saturday and Sunday.
The trip marks the beginning of the Redbirds' annual spring break road trip. Illinois State will play a pair of midweek games at Tennessee Tech on Tuesday and Wednesday, March 14-15, before another traditional weekend series at Lipscomb next weekend, March 17-19.
Illinois State (2-7) will carry a six-game losing streak into the series at Western Kentucky, although the Redbirds have been competitive in each of their past two series. Five of the six losses came by two or fewer runs.
Western Kentucky (5-9) will enter the series after splitting a pair of midweek contests. The Hilltoppers earned a 3-2 win over visiting Belmont on Tuesday, before suffering a 16-15 loss at Eastern Kentucky, in 10 innings, on Wednesday.
The Redbirds will go with the starting pitching rotation of Jack Landwehr, Brent Headrick and Brady Huffman at Western Kentucky. The hosts will counter with left-hander Ryan Thurston on Friday and right-hander Paul Kirkpatrick on Saturday. The Hilltoppers' Sunday starter has not yet been determined.
Illinois State owns a slight, 12-11 edge in the all-time series with Western Kentucky, which started in 1983. Illinois State took two games of a three-game series in Bowling Green in 2005, in the most recent meeting.
Links for live video and live stats can be found at GoRedbirds.com, and fans can follow @RedbirdBaseball on Twitter for live updates and more.
GoRedbirds.com: Your online source for Illinois State Athletics tickets, Weisbecker Scholarship Fund gifts, multimedia, Redbird merchandise, photos and more.
