March 23, 2006
NORMAL, Ill. -
For Illinois State head baseball coach Jim Brownlee, the baseball season is broken into three distinct parts: the non-conference schedule, the Missouri Valley Conference schedule and, hopefully, a post-season schedule. Aside from a few mid-week non-conference games, the first part of the season has passed for the Redbirds and the team now anxiously awaits its MVC season opening series that begins at 3 p.m. Friday against the Northern Iowa Panthers at Redbird Field.
The Redbirds (4-13) have not played up to their coaches' expectations so far, but Brownlee knows his team is talented enough to bounce back and play well in the MVC.
"As far as I'm concerned, we are going into this weekend with clean slate," said Brownlee. "We have not won as many games as we expected to thus far, but we played some tough teams during that time including three ranked teams. At times, we played well and, after last weekend, I think this team is beginning to figure out who they are as a squad and realize the potential they have as a group."
The Panthers (11-9) come to Redbird field fresh off of a 4-2 win against Clarke College in UNI's home opener on Wednesday. The weekend series with the `Birds will also be the conference opener for the Panthers, who won two of three games from ISU in last year's series in Cedar Falls, Iowa. Brownlee knows that UNI will ready this weekend and that his team will have to play well at home to get off to a good start in the conference.
"The Panthers are always a good hitting team and are very aggressive on the bases, which is something we will have to look out for," said Brownlee. "However, opening the conference schedule at home should be an advantage for us and we need to play mistake-free baseball and take care of business at home."
Junior Kitt Kopach (0-3) will make his fourth start of the season Friday on the mound for ISU. His 2.53 ERA is the lowest on the team and Brownlee is counting on his veteran right-hander to get the first of many important MVC wins.
"As good as our league is this year, each and every game will be just as important as the others," said Brownlee. "That's why a win in Friday's game is crucial to the rest of the season and I am anxious to see how the players react to the situation."
Freshman Jim Sajewich (0-2) is penciled in to start in Saturday's game, which begins at 2 p.m., and fellow freshman Ian Berger (2-2) will close out the weekend on the mound with his start in Sunday's 1 p.m. series finale for the Redbirds.
