Feb. 15, 2006
NORMAL, Ill. -
After practicing for nearly a month inside Horton Field House and a few times on the turf at Hancock Stadium, the Illinois State baseball team is anxious to get some real competition under its belts when the team opens the 2006 season at the Texas-Arlington Invitational, Friday and Saturday at Clay Gould Ballpark in Arlington, Texas.
Unfortunately, the weather may not cooperate with the invitational, as the schedule for the weekend has been revised to account for the threat of inclement weather.
The Redbirds' will play a double-header on Friday, beginning with Oral Roberts at 11 a.m. The Golden Eagles, 2005 NCAA Regional qualifiers, are 3-0 in 2006, after completing a three-game sweep of Missouri Southern last weekend. Following the conclusion of that game, ISU will face the hosts, Texas-Arlington, at approximately 2:30 p.m. The Mavericks are 2-2 this season, after going 2-1 against Louisiana Tech last weekend and losing to No. 23 Baylor earlier this week. The `Birds will finish the trip against Big 12 opponent Kansas State on Saturday at 11 a.m., who will also be playing their first games of the season this weekend in Texas.
Head coach Jim Brownlee is anxious to get the season underway against some quality competition.
"After practicing for about a month now and actually getting outside a couple of times, we are ready to get on the dirt and play some real baseball in a good tournament," said Brownlee. "Anytime you get to start the season in a place like Texas, it is nice to get to play different teams other than the host school. The three teams we will play this weekend will all be tough competition and we will have to be ready to play some fundamentally sound baseball to get some wins."
This weekend will also give coach Brownlee the chance to evaluate some the newcomers to the team. Junior college transfer Jesse Griswold and freshman pitcher Ian Berger are both projected to start their first Division I games this weekend, while several other newcomers will see time on the field.
"The non-conference schedule allows us to get a look at everyone on the team, and we will play a lot of guys this weekend," said Brownlee. "However, this is a veteran squad for the most part, and I am looking forward to seeing how their experience from last season and their hard work in the off-season will translate on the field."
Live stats for all three games this weekend will be available through Gametracker. Simply click on the baseball schedule page and click on the Gametracker links for the appropriate game to follow the action as it happens.
