April 27, 2006
NORMAL, Ill. -
Following last weekend's non-conference weekend series with the Illinois Institute of Technology, the Illinois State baseball team will jump back into Missouri Valley Conference play this weekend for a three-game set with the Evansville Purple Aces at Braun Stadium in Evansville, Ind.
The Redbirds (14-25, 5-7 MVC) are coming off an eight-game homestand in which the team posted a 3-5 record, including a series loss to conference foe Bradley. This weekend's road trip will be a welcome change for ISU and head coach Jim Brownlee, who is looking to break out and gain some momentum once again in conference play.
"Obviously, the past eight games at home have been a struggle for us," said Brownlee. "But, conference play seems to put the players in a different mind set and they seem to get fired up for conference games more than the non-conference contests. Being on the road may help shed some of those frustrations as well and I'm looking forward to a hard-fought series."
The Purple Aces (25-18, 8-7 MVC) are winners of five of their last six games coming into the series and have won three-straight Valley series. The Aces will be facing their former skipper in Brownlee, who was the head coach at UE for 23 seasons. Despite his ties to the school and the community, Brownlee knows that the series means a lot more than him returning to his former home.
"It will be nice to catch up with old friends and colleagues, but this weekend is about taking care of business on the field," said Brownlee. "This is a huge weekend for both of our teams in conference play. We both have seven losses in Valley play. With a series win, they could move up and get in the race for the top spot, or we could top them and break into the middle of the pack with some wins. It should be a very evenly matched series and whoever pitches better will come out on top."
ISU will count on freshman Ian Berger (4-4, 4.98 ERA) to set the tone early in the series, as he is the scheduled starter for the 6 p.m. series opener on Friday. Junior Kitt Kopach (2-6, 2.70 ERA) will follow in the Saturday's 2 p.m. showdown and freshman Jim Sajewich (1-4, 5.80) will close out the series on the mound for the Redbirds in the 1 p.m. series finale on Sunday.
