March 23, 2010
NORMAL, Ill. - Illinois State pitcher Brad Sorkin will make just his second career start Wednesday when the Redbirds travel to Purdue for a mid-week, non-conference match-up at Lambert Field in West Lafayette, Ind., but the freshman right-hander isn't lacking in experience.
Sorkin, who has appeared in four games for Illinois State, will square off against Purdue lefty Blake Mascarello in the 3 p.m. game, and will draw from a pair of very meaningful outings. The Buffalo Grove, Ill., native made his first career appearance on opening day out of the bullpen at Austin Peay, and made his first career start at then No. 6-ranked Florida on the Redbirds' spring trip. A starter through his entire high school career, Sorkin was knocked around for seven hits in three innings of relief against Austin Peay, but struck out three and limited one of the best teams in the country to just two runs in four innings when he started against the Gators.
"I was not expecting to be the first guy out of the pen (against Austin Peay), I was shocked," Sorkin said. "It was a good game to get my feet wet, and see that that the field is the same dimensions as in high school - only you're now facing every high school's No. 3 hitter and if you make a mistake they make you pay for it. As a reliever you have to have the mindset of attacking the hitters and that translated over during my start. It definitely helped out a lot."
Sorkin was markedly better in his second relief appearances, striking out two and holding Western Michigan to a single run in two innings while closing out a 7-3 Illinois State win at the RussMatt Invitational in Auburndale, Fla. The true trial-by-fire came a week later when he started on the road against the Southeastern Conferences' perennial power Florida and kept the Redbirds in the game through four innings.
"I was really nervous - it was hard for me to sleep the night before," Sorkin said of his start against the Gators. "It was unbelievable facing those guys. I feel like if I can pitch against them, I can pitch against anyone. I had that reliever mentality. I said I'm going to attack the zone and if they hit it, let's see how far they can hit it. That definitely gave me a lot of confidence, knowing that if I make my pitches I'll have success."
Illinois State is hoping for similar results against a Boilermaker squad that won its fifth-consecutive contest Tuesday night with a 10-4 win over IPFW. Purdue outhit the Mastodons, 16-10, in the home-opening game and has five hitters who have played in 10 games or more with batting averages over .300. Barrett Arthur leads Purdue's regulars with a .450 (18-for-40) average and has hit three home runs.
The Redbirds are coming off a 2-1 series win over Central Michigan last weekend at Duffy Bass Field and have won four of the last six games. Anthony Ruffolo hit two home runs and doubled twice over the weekend to lift his batting average to .316 on the season. The senior outfielder leads the Redbirds with 17 walks and is second on the team with a .481 on-base percentage. Sophomore catcher Matt Mirabal knocked four hits against Central Michigan, including the first home run of his career in the series opener.
The statistical comparisons between Purdue and Illinois State are similar. The Boilermakers enter Wednesday's contest with a .500 overall record (8-8) and are batting .334 as a team. Illinois State brings an 8-9 record and has hit .316 in the early going. Both teams like to steal a base (35-34 Purdue edge on steals) and have struggled defensively with team fielding percentages around .950. Both teams have limited opposing hitters to a .288 batting average.
Illinois State and Purdue split a pair of games last season, with each team winning on the road. Illinois State is 0-2 against the Big Ten Conference in 2010, with neutral site losses to Iowa and Indiana. The Redbirds are 12-14 all-time against the Boilermakers and will host the team at Duffy Bass Field April 14.
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