April 19, 2010
Winners of their last six Missouri Valley Conference games, Illinois State will take a break from league play and attempt to tackle two in-state foes from the Big Ten Conference when the Redbirds travel to Illinois (April 20) and Northwestern (April 21) for a pair of mid-week games.
Last Time Out
Illinois State used a pair of walk-off hits to win the first two games against Southern Illinois and swept its second-consecutive Missouri Valley Conference series when the Redbirds plated four runs in the bottom of the eighth in Sunday's series finale with the Salukis. Kenny Long earned the win in all three games, as three different Redbird batters provided the winning hits. On Friday, Anthony Ruffolo singled over the centerfielder's head to lift the Redbirds to a 7-6 win, then Tyler McNeely hit a three-run blast in the bottom of the ninth of Saturday's contest for a 6-3 Redbird win. Kevin Tokarski drove in two on a double in the eighth Sunday, part of the team's four run outburst.
The Opponent: Illinois Fighting Illini
• The University of Illinois is located in Champaign-Urbana, Ill.., and has an enrollment of 42,326. The Fighting Illini are members of the Big Ten Conference.
• Illinois was 34-20 last season and went 16-8 in Big Ten play. The Fighting Illini enter Tuesday night's contest 16-15 overall and on the heels of a 2-1 series loss to Michigan. Illinois defeated Eastern Illinois and Southern Illinois in mid-week action last week.
• The Fighting Illini are coached by Dan Hartleb (Southern Illinois '89), who is in his fifth season as the Illinois' head coach, his only head coaching position. Hartleb has a won more than 130 games as the leader of the Illini.
• Illinois holds a 43-30 edge in the all-time series that dates back to 1904. Illinois State won the earlier meeting this season between the two teams, 13-8, at Duffy Bass Field (March 30).
The Opponent: Northwestern Wildcats
• Northwestern University is located in Evanston, Ill., and has an enrollment of 8,000. The Wildcats are members of the Big Ten Conference.
• Northwestern was 13-35-1 last season and enter Wednesday's contest 12-22. The Wildcats took two out of three from Minnesota in a Big Ten series at Rocky Miller Park last weekend.
• The Wildcats are coached by Paul Stevens (Lewis '76), who has over 500 wins in his 23rd season as Northwestern's head coach.
• Northwestern holds a 13-7 series edge over Illinois State, including a 13-3 win over the Redbirds at Duffy Bass Field last year.
One of the Best
Opponents are having a hard time keeping Kevin Tokarski off the base paths as the Redbird second baseman reached 10 times and scored six runs during last week's games. Tokarski went 7-for-12 (.583) at the plate to raise his league-leading batting average to .465, and walked three times to yield a .667 on base percentage for the week. Tokarksi scored the game winning run on a walk-off single by Anthony Ruffolo in the bottom of the ninth in Friday's series-opening win over Southern Illinois, and helped the Redbirds sweep their second-consecutive conference series by driving in the go-ahead runs with a double in the bottom of the eighth in Sunday's game. Tokarski hit three doubles last week and leads the Valley with 20 on the season. He's three doubles shy of tying the single-season mark at Illinois State, and sits three steals away from tying the Redbirds' career mark for stolen bases. On a national scale, there's nobody better in the country at getting on base (.576). The Downers Grove, Ill., native has the second-best batting average (.465) and second-most doubles (20) in the nation.
Long's Relief
Redbird reliever
Kenny Long earned the win in all three games over the weekend as Illinois State swept Southern Illinois to extend its Missouri Valley Conference winning streak to six games. The sophomore left-hander became the first Redbird pitcher ever to win three games in a Valley series. Long struck out nine batters in five innings and was unhittable - allowing just one base runner on a walk in Sunday's series finale. The Fox River Grove, Ill., native was especially tough on the Saluki's No. 3 and No. 4 hitters in the lineup, as they went a combined 0-for-6 with five strikeouts. In conference games, Long is tied for the league lead with three wins and leads the Valley with three saves. His 1.30 ERA on the season is one of the top-10 marks in the country and he's striking out batters at a rate of 10.9 per nine innings. Long leads the country in opponent batting average, limiting opposing hitters to a .122 average.
Drama Anyone?
Illinois State didn't have a walk-off hit prior to last weekend's series with Southern Illinois, but the Redbirds used two of them, and more late inning heroics in Sunday's series finale, to sweep the Salukis. In Friday night's game, designated hitter
Anthony Ruffolo hit a ball over the centerfielder's head to plate
Kevin Tokarski and give Illinois State a 6-5 win. Saturday,
Tyler McNeely hit a three-run shot to centerfield to lift Illinois State to a 6-3 victory, and in Sunday's game, Illinois State erased a two-run deficit with four runs in the bottom of the eighth to win 9-7. Ruffolo's hit was Illinois State's first walk-off since the last regular season series of 2009, and McNeely's home run was the first walk-off home run since
Corey Maines homered in extra innings against Evansville on opening night at the new stadium at Duffy Bass Field (3/20/09).
Tokarski Making History
Illinois State second baseman
Kevin Tokarski is having a season unmatched by many in Illinois State history. Tokarski knocked three doubles last week and has 20 on the season - just three shy of the Illinois State single season record set by
Kevin Dubler in 2008. With 18 games left in the regular season it's likely that Tokarski will cruise past Dubler's mark. Tokarski, a redshirt sophomore who already holds the single-season mark for stolen bases (32), is also likely to surpass Illinois State's career stolen bases mark at some point this season. He has 52 career steals, three behind the Redbirds' all-time leader Mike Prior (55).
Role Reversal
Illinois State went a combined 0-6 against Creighton and Southern Illinois during a rough two-weekend stretch towards the end of last season, but flipped the script this season. The league-leading Redbirds have won six consecutive conference contests, including the first ever sweep of the Bluejays in Omaha and a series sweep over Southern Illinois at Duffy Bass Field last weekend.
