Bad weather is making things very difficult for head coach Jim Brownlee and the Illinois State baseball team. The four-game series with Murray State, originally scheduled to start on Friday, February 28, at 2 p.m. has been pushed back and will begin on Saturday, March 1, weather permitting.
The coaches from both schools will decide Friday morning whether or not Reagan Field will be playable for a Saturday night game. If not, the teams will attempt to play back-to-back doubleheaders on Sunday, March 2, and Monday, March 3.
Also, in an effort to increase their non-conference schedule, the Birds have added a nine-inning game to their spring break trip in Fresno, Calif. Illinois State will play Pennsylvania at 2 p.m. central time on Sunday, March 9, at the Bullard High School field in Fresno. This game will not be part of the Johnny-Quik/Pepsi Classic.
The worst part about the weather is that we have new coaches working with new players and we cant get outside to evaluate the team, said Brownlee. The good news is next week we head to California and hopefully there wont be any earthquakes there.
Picking up games is good for us right now, continued Brownlee. We have some open dates in April that we will hopefully be able to fill. We need to play some games so that we can see how our pitchers throw and develop a rotation.
All games in the Murray State will still be available via webcast at www.redbirds.org or www.wjbc.com.
