Illinois State head baseball coach Mark Kingston is taking the Redbirds to the university where he was once part of a national championship team. The Redbirds (7-3) will play Miami (4-7), the school that Kingston was an assistant at when the Hurricanes won the 2001 College Baseball World Series. ISU is scheduled for a 5 p.m. CT first-pitch against Miami on Tuesday and Wednesday.
"Our team has a great opportunity to play one of the greatest programs in college baseball," Kingston said. "Personally, it's important to me, and it's an honor to go back to Miami as a head coach after spending two seasons there as an assistant. But at the end of the day, this isn't about me. It's about Illinois State playing Miami, and we expect to go down there and play well."
The Redbirds bring a five-game winning streak to Alex Rodriguez Park after sweeping their competition at the RussMatt Central Florida Invitational, Mar. 4-6 in Winter Haven, Fla. Ryan Court led ISU during the weekend series with a .429 average against Minnesota State, Xavier and Bowling Green. Court went 6-for-14 with five runs scored and four RBI, including a home run and two doubles, extending his hitting streak to eight consecutive games.
Miami suffered a three-game sweep to No. 1 Florida over the weekend, extending the Hurricanes' losing streak to four games, which is their longest regular-season skid since 2005. Miami started the year ranked No. 18 in the USA Today/ESPN poll, and the Hurricanes were predicted to finish third in the Coastal Division of the Atlantic Coast Conference Coaches Preseason Poll. Miami captured a 20-10 league record in 2010, finishing third in the Coastal Division behind Virginia and Georgia Tech, respectively. The Hurricanes posted a 43-20 overall record, claiming the NCAA Coral Gables Regional title, and advancing to the NCAA Gainesville Super Regional.
ISU right-hander JD Learnard (0-1) will start Tuesday night's game against Miami left-hander AJ Salcines (0-0), while Redbird right-hander Dan Savas (1-0) is slated to take the mound Wednesday evening versus left-hander Steven Ewing (0-1). The Redbirds are playing the Hurricanes for the first time since 1997. Illinois State trails the all-time series against Miami, 3-0.
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