April 28, 2008
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NORMAL, Ill. -
The Illinois State baseball team (18-22) will kick off a week of rivalry games when it travels cross-town to face rival Illinois Wesleyan Tuesday in the fifth-annual Horenberger-Bass Classic. The game, which is set to begin at 6 p.m. at IWU's Horenberger Field, is the first of four rivalry games, as in-state rival Bradley will come to Duffy Bass Field this weekend for a three-game Missouri Valley Conference set.
The Horenberger-Bass Classic is named after the former Illinois State coach Duffy Bass and Jack Horenberger, who was the former head coach at Illinois Wesleyan. Bass was the winningest coach in ISU history for any sport until that record was broken last year by ISU softball head coach Melinda Fischer. From 1964-88, Bass compiled a 713-457-18 record and by his third season with the Redbirds, the team made its first of five-straight trips to College Division (now Division II) postseason play. In 1969, his team finished 33-5 and won the national title, the only national crown won by an ISU team to date. Horenberger posted a 37-year record of 509 wins against 401 losses (.559) with five ties at the helm of the Titan baseball program and was also an athletic director at Illinois Wesleyan.
"I always enjoy the crosstown classic; it's nice to get some publicity and notoriety for our program," said head coach Jim Brownlee. "It's always a tough game because we have a lot to lose being a NCAA Division I program. The game is always circled on their schedule, and they have a good program. They beat us last year, and it just depends on who is on the mound. There have been a lot of games in this rivalry, and its close.
"It's fun; I think it's the one time during the season that people in the community get excited about college baseball. It's a chance to showcase your program. I have really enjoyed it. I have been involved in the game in three capacities: as a player, assistant coach and as a head coach. It's has been fun."
The "Classic" began in 2004 and switches between Duffy Bass Field and Horenberger Field each year. The series is currently tied at 2-2, as Illinois Wesleyan upset the Redbirds, 3-2, last season. Despite only being recently renewed, the rivalry between the two schools dates back to 1890, with ISU holding an 81-70 advantage in the all-time series.
The Redbirds will likely send sophomore Jacob Wielebnicki to the mound during Tuesday's contest. The right-hander is 1-0 with a 5.23 earned-run average (ERA) in 10.1 innings of work. He will be opposed by IWU right-hander Geoff Page, who is 0-0 with a 6.86 ERA in 21.0 innings pitched.
Illinois State will also play host to St. Louis Wednesday at 2 p.m. at Duffy Bass Field. The Redbirds have already faced the Billikens once this season, as SLU pulled out a 9-8 win March 25 in St. Louis.
Fans can follow each game this week with live statistics, available on GoRedbirds.com. Tuesday's game will also be broadcast by WJBC-AM 1230, Bloomington, available on wjbc2.com. A "Listen" link can also be found on the main schedule section of GoRedbirds.com.
