Nov. 6, 2006
NORMAL, Ill. -
With winter here and the professional baseball season over, the Illinois State baseball team has already begun preparation for its 2007 campaign. With 13 letterwinners returning and a group of 16 newcomers, the team boasts a unique mix of experience and raw talent that will be put to the test by the team's 2007 schedule. Six NCAA qualifiers highlight the 54-game schedule for the Redbirds, which kicks off February 16-18, 2007, in Arlington, Texas.
Illinois State begins its season at the UTA Invitational, hosted by Texas-Arlington. There, the Redbirds will face off against the hosts and Nebraska, who both qualified for the 64-team NCAA field in 2006, and against New Mexico. ISU head coach Jim Brownlee is looking forward to making this trip, which the team was scheduled to compete in last year, but had to cancel due to inclement weather.
"The UTA Invitational allows us to play some good teams, like Nebraska, at a neutral site," said Brownlee. "We like to play those teams at a neutral site and I think it gives us a chance to win, rather than playing a three-game set with them at their home field. Plus, it will finally be nice to get to Texas, after we were scheduled to open the season there last year and weather prevented us from going."
Following the season-opening invitational in the Lone Star state, the Redbirds will travel to Fayetteville, Ark., to take on Arkansas in a three-game series, Feb. 23-25. Brownlee believes his team will enjoy the trip to Arkansas, but will have to play well against the Razorbacks.
"Arkansas has a great program and could be ranked in the top five this season, with a lot of their players back from a team that went 38-19 last year and advanced to the NCAA Tournament," said Brownlee. It will be a good atmosphere to play in for our players, but it will be tough playing a team of that caliber for three games at their home field."
A three-game set with Louisville will follow for the `Birds, before they turn to their spring break trip against Southeast Missouri State, Memphis and St. Louis, March 9-18. St. Louis advanced to the NCAA Tournament for the first time in 40 years after winning the Atlantic 10 conference championship in 2006. All three teams match up well with the Redbirds, which is something Brownlee thinks gives his team a shot to be successful on the eight-game road swing.
"I think our spring trip is going to be good for us because we should have some success," said Brownlee. "We are playing teams that are very similar to us. Even though we are going to be on the road the whole time, it gives us a good opportunity to come away with some quality wins over good teams."
After the home-opener against Valparaiso on March 20, ISU will begin its Missouri Valley Conference season with three games at Southern Illinois. The Valley home schedule should also be competitive, with series against Missouri State, Indiana State, last year's conference tournament champion Evansville, and Creighton.
"I think that every year, when we put our schedule together, we do it with the idea that playing a very competitive non-conference schedule is going to help us get prepared for league play and also give us a better chance at an at-large bid, if our record permits one," said Brownlee. "The early season is going to be important for us heading into Valley play and is set up to allow us to possibly win between 30 and 35 games this year."
To access the full 2007 baseball schedule, visit the Illinois State athletics website at GoRedbirds.com. Click on the baseball link from the men's sports section and click on the schedule link to view the entire lineup for 2007.
