March 5, 2009
Minnesota Tournament Notes 
NORMAL, Ill. - Poor weather conditions have tormented Illinois State through the first two weeks of the baseball season, leaving everyone involved with the team wishing someone could just throw up a dome and the Redbirds could play inside. That's usually easier said than done, but the Redbirds will get that chance this weekend as the team travels to the Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome and the Minnesota Golden Gopher Tournament (March 6-8).
Illinois State (2-3) begins play Friday against Minnesota at 6:35 p.m., and will play South Dakota State (March 7) and Western Michigan (March 8) before continuing a 10-day road trip in San Antonio.
The Redbirds were forced to cancel the series finale with Belmont (Feb. 22) and lost two games of the Murray State series last weekend due to rain and snow. The weather, coupled with four great starts by Redbird pitchers Ryan Copeland and Corey Maines, has left lingering questions about the Illinois State bullpen. Jim Sajewich and Kyle Nelson are the only two Redbird relievers to see game action so far this season.
"Going from (Horton Field House) to the dirt, you're always concerned with how (pitchers) will perform - that's why you play so many pre-season games," Illinois State head coach Jim Brownlee said. "You can't control the weather and I think you have to be happy that you have four complete games already - that's probably up at the top of the country right now in complete games even though they were seven inning games.
"Our guys have pitched very well and this will be a good eight game swing where everybody's going to get some work and we'll be a little bit tired when we come home. Quinn Ewert and Ryan Camp will get a couple more starts and we'll play nine inning games where we're using our bullpen in the seventh, eighth and ninth innings."
Camp, who made his collegiate debut against Belmont (Feb. 21), is scheduled to start Friday's game against the Gophers and will be followed in the rotation by Copeland and Maines. Copeland has been nearly untouchable for Illinois State while posting a 0.69 ERA and limiting opposing hitters to a .182 average.
Anthony Ruffolo is the Redbirds leading hitter with a .357 average and has two RBI. Ruffolo is riding a four-game hitting streak into the weekend, the second-longest active streak on the team. Mike Stalowy has recorded a hit in every game this season while posting a .278 batting average and has hit safely in six consecutive games dating back to the end of last season.
Illinois State is hitting just .241 this season, a mark Brownlee hopes will improve with more games.
"Our (mode of operation) right now is pitching and defense," Brownlee said. "I do think we have a chance to be a decent hitting team, we just to get at-bats outside."
