In one of the seasons premier pitching match-ups in the Valley, Illinois States Todd Stein and Wichita States Mike Pelfrey will toe the rubber for their respective clubs Friday night at 6:30 p.m., when Illinois State welcomes the 10th ranked Wichita State Shockers to Redbird Field for a four-game series.
Stein comes in on the heels of his best performance of the season, when he pitched a complete game, five-hit shutout against Northern Iowa last Friday. With the win, the senior moved his record to 3-0 and lowered his team best ERA to 1.56.
His counterpart, Pelfrey, is widely considered one of the top pitchers in the nation, as he sports a 3-0 record with a 2.45 ERA. Pelfrey, who is only a sophomore, was recently one of 30 collegiate baseball players named to the 2004 Golden Spikes Award watch list, an award given out every year to the top collegiate baseball player.
Thats the way its supposed to be on a Friday night in the Valley, said Illinois State second-year coach Jim Brownlee. Pelfrey handled us pretty good last year in Wichita, but I feel confident every time Todd Stein has the ball in his hands for us. Not only is he effective, but he has done a great job eating up innings for us on Friday.
The Shockers come in with a 16-5 overall record and are a perfect 8-0 in the Valley. WSU won last seasons Valley Tournament title and put up 40-plus wins for the 26th straight year, all under current head coach Gene Stephenson.
Wichita has very good pitching, said Brownlee. On the other hand, I think we finally have all of our guys straightened out. If that holds true, I like our chances this weekend.
As good as they (Wichita State) are, Im more worried with how Illinois State is going to play, added Brownlee. Weve been so up and down all season. If we play the we can play, well take care of ourselves.
Illinois State (9-13, 4-4) will send junior Kyle Bloom (1-4) to the mound in game one Saturday (1:00 p.m.) and freshman Eric Theisen (2-2) to the mound in game two. Senior Josh Kauten will make the start at 1:00 p.m. in game four Sunday.
Friday nights game and game one Saturday will be available on AM 1230 WJBC or www.wjbc.com. Game two Saturday and Sundays finale will be on www.wjbc2.com. In addition, fans can follow along with live scoring by using Gametracker. To access Gametracker, go to www.redbirds.org, select the baseball schedule and click on the appropriate link.
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