March 24, 2009
Game Notes 
NORMAL, Ill. - The Illinois State baseball team goes on the road again for a mid-week clash with Eastern Illinois at Coaches Stadium at 3 p.m. Wednesday.
The Redbirds (10-6, 2-1 MVC), winners of eight of the last 10 games, opened the 2009 Missouri Valley Conference schedule with a 2-1 series victory over Evansville last weekend at Duffy Bass Field. Illinois State will get a temporary break from Valley play, but not from tough competition as the Panthers enter Wednesday's contest with a 14-5 record.
"They've beaten some pretty good teams and they're on a roll," Illinois State head coach Jim Brownlee said of the Panthers. "They've built that team the last few years. They were young and now they're reaping the benefits of it."
The Panthers were hitting .358 as a team entering Tuesday night's contest with Chicago State, and a 16-1 blowout win in Chicago won't hurt the team's overall average.
Quinn Ewert will make his third start of the season for Illinois State and will face off with Eastern Illinois' Mike Martin. Ewert went four innings in his last outing against Texas-Pan American and surrendered just one earned run as the Redbirds cruised to a 10-2 win.
"It'll be a good test for Quinn - I think he's due," Brownlee said. "He's had enough starts now and hopefully he can get us into the sixth or seventh inning and then get us to the bullpen."
The Redbirds are led offensively by Evan Kohli. The junior college transfer from Hutchinson, Minn., has made the transition look easy while leading the team with a .375 batting average. Kohli, a 2008 NJCAA Division III All-American, hit his first home run as a Redbird on Saturday against Evansville and has 12 RBI.
"Evan is far exceeding my expectations," Brownlee said. "He's hitting all the pitching, he doesn't care who it is. Hopefully that will bode well for the rest of the year for us."
