April 15, 2010
NORMAL, Ill. - Illinois State will look to shake off a rough mid-week contest against Purdue and return to its red-hot form in Missouri Valley Conference play when the Redbirds host league-foe Southern Illinois for a three-game series at Duffy Bass Field beginning Friday at 4:30 p.m.
The Redbirds were defeated by Purdue, 11-3, Wednesday night, marking the team's fourth-consecutive, non-conference loss, but Illinois State has turned up its level of play in Valley games with a league-leading 5-1 mark. Illinois State has played all six conference games on the road, defeating Indiana State 2-1 to open Valley play (March 26-27) and sweeping Creighton for the first time ever last weekend (April 9-11).
Illinois State will have to play its best baseball against a Southern Illinois squad that has won eight out of the last nine meetings between the two schools, including all three games at Abe Martin Field in Carbondale, Ill., last season. The Salukis enter the weekend with a 16-17 record overall and a 5-4 mark in Valley play.
Southern Illinois closer Bryant George (4-1, 6.99 ERA) is expected to make his first career start Friday against Illinois State's Corey Maines (3-2, 3.55 ERA). Friday is Greek Day at Duffy Bass Field and all students wearing their house letters will receive free admission to the game. Additionally, the chapter with the most representatives at the game will win free pizza from Papa Johns. Friday is also a Family Night at Duffy Bass Field, with a family four pack of tickets - two adult and two kid tickets - selling for $10.
Saturday's game will start at 2 p.m. and will feature Illinois State freshman Brad Sorkin (3-1, 2.73 ERA) against Southern's Nathan Forer (1-2, 0.89 ERA), and Sunday's 1 p.m. contest will pit ISU's Ryan Camp (4-3, 8.67 ERA) against SIU's Randy Hoelscher (2-2, 9.76 ERA).
Last Time Out
Tyler McNeely went 2-for-3 at the plate and Matt Werderitch struck out three in 1.2 scoreless innings of relief but Illinois State was defeated, 11-3, in a non-conference, mid-week contest against Purdue at Duffy Bass Field Wednesday. Purdue knocked 13 hits and the Boilermaker pitching staff combined to strike out the Redbirds 11 times.
The Opponent: Southern Illinois Salukis
• Southern Illinois University is located in Carbondale, Ill, and has an enrollment of 20,350. The Salukis are members of the Missouri Valley Conference.
• SIU was 24-28 last season and went 11-9 in Valley play. The Salukis enter the weekend series 15-17 overall and 5-4 in the Valley.
• The Salukis are coached by Dan Callaghan, who is in his 16th season as SIU's head coach. He has over 400 wins as the leader of Southern Illinois and more than 550 wins in 22 years as a collegiate head coach.
• Southern Illinois leads the all-time series with Illinois State, 79-71-1, and won all three contests against Illinois State last year in Carbondale. Illinois State's last win over Southern Illinois was in the second game of a doubleheader May 10, 2008 - a 2-1 decision in 12 innings.
Two-Out Offense
Illinois State scored another run with two outs in Wednesday's loss to Purdue, a continuation of an interesting trend from the weekend series at Creighton. In Sunday's series finale against the Bluejays, Illinois State tallied all nine hits and six runs with two outs on the board. The Redbirds have 16 two-out base hits in the last three games, including nine in Sunday's win over the Jays. That mark is second only to Illinois State's 10 hits with two outs against James Madison (March 14). Six Redbirds have higher batting averages in two-out situations than overall.
Power Ranked
Illinois State second baseman Kevin Tokarski was rated as the No. 2 middle infielder in the country, according to Yahoo! Sports College Baseball analyst Kendall Roger's most recent power rankings.
Tokarski Still Cruising
Kevin Tokarski led Illinois State with five runs scored and hit a game-winning home run to help Illinois State clinch its first series win over Creighton in Omaha since 1986, and the first ever sweep over the Bluejays. The redshirt sophomore from Downers Grove, Ill., had two extra-base hits among his four hits last week, including his league-leading 17th double of the season and a solo home run in the top of the sixth to push ISU past Creighton, 7-6, Saturday. Tokarski drew five free passes last week, two intentional. Tokarski stole two bases to move into second all-time at Illinois State with 52. He logged a .529 on-base percentage and is fifth in the nation with a .566 season on-base percentage. Tokarski is tied for sixth in the country with a .451 batting average through 29 games.
What a Relief!
Like a batter hitting a home run in a key situation, Ryan Copeland's pitching performance changed the momentum of not only Friday's game but the entire weekend series as the senior from Des Plaines, Ill., helped lead Illinois State to its first ever sweep over Creighton. Copeland earned a win and a save in the weekend series and scattered just two hits over eight innings in three relief appearances last week. Copeland held Creighton scoreless through four innings Friday, after the Bluejays had plated six runs in the first four innings of the game, to help Illinois State snap a nine-game losing streak to the Jays. In Sunday's series finale, the left-handed pitcher added three more scoreless innings of relief while closing out the sweep and earning his first save of the season. The 3-0 series win marked the first series win over the Jays in Omaha since 1986 and first ever sweep. Copeland struck out seven batters last week and allowed just three men to reach base in eight innings.
There He Goes
Illinois State second baseman Kevin Tokarski stole two bases over the weekend to move past Matt Bolt (51) into second place on the all-time steals list at Illinois State with 52 career stolen bases. Tokarski, a redshirt sophomore from Downers Grove, Ill., set Illinois State's single season mark with 32 steals as a freshman in 2008 and is 19-of-22 on the base paths this season.
A Long Time
Illinois State reliever Kenny Long's streak of scoreless innings pitched ended at 16.2 when Creighton's Joey Bowens tripled in a pair of runners with two outs in the ninth inning of Saturday's game. Long had dropped his season ERA to 0.98 and saved the first four games of his career during the run. The redshirt-sophomore from Fox River Grove, Ill., is 1-2 with a 1.52 ERA in 15 games - the ninth-best ERA in the country in Monday's stat rankings. He has 33 strikeouts in 29.2 innings and opponents are hitting just .139 off the left-hander.
Fresh Addition
Illinois State freshman pitcher Brad Sorkin has been one of Illinois State's best starting pitchers in the past several games. The Buffalo Grove, Ill., native is 3-0 with a 0.48 ERA in his last three starts, with wins over Big Ten opponents Purdue, Illinois, and a win over Creighton in Valley play Saturday. Sorkin has limited opponents to eight hits over 18.2 innings in his last three starts and allowed just one earned run. Opponents are hitting .131 off the right hander who has pitched his way into the Redbirds' weekend rotation.
Nice to Get the First One
Illinois State junior outfielder Ty Wiesemeyer had to wait a long time to get his first hit as a Redbird. The transfer from Heartland Community College went 0-for-8 in the first three games of the season before breaking his hand and missing 23 games. Wiesemeyer, who hit better than .400 in two seasons with the Hawks, went 0-for-2 in his first game back against Creighton, before clubbing a double to lead off the fourth inning of Saturday's game with the Bluejays (April 10) - his first hit as a Redbird. The Troy, Ill., native has started four consecutive games for the Redbirds in left field.
