March 29, 2010
NORMAL, Ill. - Illinois State relief pitcher Kenny Long recorded the first, second and third saves of his career in three consecutive games for Illinois State last week and was named the Missouri Valley Conference Pitcher of the Week, as announced by the league office Monday.
The redshirt sophomore from Fox River Grove, Ill., closed out three Redbird wins, including two to open Missouri Valley Conference play, without allowing a run. Long, who has appeared in 10 games for the Redbirds, struck out eight batters and allowed just two hits in 5.1 innings of relief.
Long worked Illinois State out of a mess in the eighth inning at Purdue (March 24) and pitched a scoreless ninth to notch his first career save. In Illinois State's conference opener at Indiana State (March 26), Long struck out five in three scoreless innings of relief to earn his second save, and then made a ninth-inning rally stick for the Redbirds less than 24 hours later with two more strikeouts to earn his third save.
The effort lowered Long's staff-leading ERA to 1.29 and opponent batting average to .147. He has 25 strikeouts and just seven walks in 21 innings pitched. The honor is the first pitcher of the week award for a Redbird pitcher this season and the second weekly award, as Kevin Tokarski was named player of the week (Feb. 22).
Illinois State returns home for a mid-week matchup with Illinois Tuesday at Duffy Bass Field, starting at 4:30 p.m. The game against the Illini is "Pack the Stadium Night" presented by the Student Government Association. Illinois State students with "Pack the Stadium" coupons will receive free admission to the game, and the first 200 students through the gate will receive a free hot dog, chips and a drink.
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