Sept. 23, 2008
NORMAL, Ill. - The Illinois State baseball team released its 2009 schedule Tuesday, featuring tournament games in the Metrodome and in San Antonio, Texas, as well as a contest with Notre Dame at Joliet's Jackhammer Stadium.
The Redbirds begin 2009 with 16 of 17 games on the road, including the season-opener against Belmont (Feb. 20). Illinois State will play a four-game series with the Bruins before heading to Murray State for another four-game series (Feb. 27-March 1).
Illinois State opens the home portion of its schedule with a single game against St. Louis University, March 4 at 2 p.m., before beginning their spring trip. The Redbirds' first home series is also their first Missouri Valley Conference series, as the Redbirds host Evansville (March 20-22). In conference play, Illinois State will also host Indiana State (March 27-29), Missouri State (April 10-12) and Creighton (May 1-3).
"The schedule has a nice mix that can get our team prepared for the Valley early on and see where our pitchers are at the first three weekends," Illinois State head coach Jim Brownlee said. "Then we jump right into the Valley, and our mid-week games are always good games against in-state rivals and Big 10 opponents. I'm looking forward to it in the new stadium."
The Redbirds will play three games in the Metrodome to begin their spring trip, on March 6-8, including a match-up with tournament host and Big 10 conference foe Minnesota. Illinois State will then head south to San Antonio for the remainder of the trip, facing Texas-San Antonio for one game, March 10, before beginning a four-game slate at the University of Notre Dame Tournament, March 11-14. Illinois State will also battle the Fighting Irish in a neutral site game at Jackhammer Stadium in Joliet, Ill., May 12.
"We've been to the Metrodome before and our players really like that - it's interesting - and the tournament in San Antonio is run very well by Notre Dame," Brownlee said. "The fans are really going to like the game against Notre Dame in Joliet. Jackhammer Stadium is a neat ballpark."
Big 10 opponents Iowa (April 1), Northwestern (April 21), Purdue (April 8 and 15) and in-state rival Illinois (March 31) are also among the opponents the Redbirds will see in the non-conference portion of their schedule. Other key match-ups for Illinois State include a mid-week trip to 2008 NCAA Tournament qualifier Eastern Illinois (March 25), a home-and-away series with Northern Illinois and a non-conference visit from Western Michigan (April 29).
Illinois State will travel to Wichita State (April 3-5), Northern Iowa (April 17-18), Southern Illinois (April 24-26) and close the conference regular season schedule with a three-game series at Bradley (May 8-10). The Missouri Valley Conference Tournament will once again be held at Eck Stadium in Wichita, Kan., and be held May 20-23.
The Horenberger-Bass Classic, the annual game pitting the Redbirds against cross-town rival Illinois Wesleyan, will be played April 28 at 6:30 p.m. at the new Duffy Bass Field.
