April 28, 2011
NORMAL, Ill. -
After two-consecutive Missouri Valley Conference road series, the Illinois State baseball team returns home this weekend to play MVC foe Indiana State at Duffy Bass Field in Normal, Ill. The Redbirds (25-12, 5-4 MVC) will play the Sycamores (21-18, 3-6) Friday at 4:30 p.m., Saturday at 2 p.m. and Sunday at 1 p.m.
“Indiana State is a solid team across the board,” Illinois State head coach Mark Kingston said. “They have really good starting pitching, a lot of lefties in the bullpen, they can score runs with power and speed, and they play good defense. Just like every weekend, we’re going to need to be on top of our game, because the margin for error will be small.”
The Redbirds won 1-of-3 games last weekend at Wichita State and did not play their scheduled midweek game against Illinois Wesleyan because of wet weather. Indiana State took 1-of-3 at Missouri State last weekend, before beating SIU Edwardsville Tuesday in non-conference action.
Illinois State is led by Tyler McNeely, who is hitting .371 with a team-best eight home runs, a .664 slugging percentage, and a .522 on-base percentage. Additionally, Kevin Tokarski is on a season-best 16-game hitting streak. Indiana State’s Koby Kraemer currently leads the Sycamores with a .351 batting average with 11 doubles, while Robby Ort is hitting .344 with eight home runs, six triples and eight doubles.
The Redbirds will start Corey Maines (7-1) Friday, Dan Savas (3-2) Saturday and JD Learnard (4-2) Sunday. Indiana State is slated to counter with Colin Rea (6-3) Friday, Sean Manaea (3-3) Saturday and Jason Van Skike (3-2) Sunday. Sycamore pitchers have combined for a 4.34 ERA compared to Illinois State’s 3.39 ERA.
The Sycamores lead the all-time series versus the Redbirds, 93-72, with Illinois State winning 4-of-5 games against Indiana State last season. Not only did the Redbirds take 2-of-3 from the Sycamores during last year’s regular-season meeting, but Illinois State also beat Indiana State in the quarterfinal and semifinal of the 2010 State Farm Missouri Valley Conference Tournament. The first meeting between the two teams occurred in 1948.
This Saturday is “youth team day” at Duffy Bass Field, allowing any youth baseball player wearing a youth team jersey free admission to the game. Meanwhile, Sunday is “fan appreciation day,” with the first 75 fans receiving a free Redbird foam finger, plus fans will have opportunities to win May Day baskets. Additionally, ice cream sundaes will be for sale in Redbird mini helmets, and kids will be able to run the bases following the game.
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