May 21, 2013
Illinois State at MVC Championship| May 21-May 25 |
Location: Normal, Ill. (Duffy Bass Field- 1,500) |
Tuesday: 7:37 p.m. vs. #8 Bradley |
Wednesday: TBA |
Thursday: TBA |
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AudioNow: 213.493.0197 (Listen to play-by-play via landline or cellular phone without using data) |
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NORMAL, Ill. - After winning the Missouri Valley Conference outright for the first time in program history, the Illinois State Redbirds (36-18, 16-5 MVC) return to Duffy Bass Field as the top seed in this weeks Missouri Valley Conference Championship, which runs May 21-25 at Duffy Bass Field. This marks the first year the Redbirds are hosting the season-ending tournament. It is also the first time Illinois State has been the top-seeded team in the field of eight.
The eight-team, double-elimination tournament begins Tuesday and runs through the championship game Saturday night. Illinois State will open play versus eight-seed Bradley (17-30, 2-19 MVC) with first pitch slated for 7:37 p.m. Tuesday night at Duffy Bass Field.
Redbirds Secure Valley Title
With a three-game sweep at Southern Illinois over the weekend, Illinois State secured its first outright Missouri Valley Conference title in program history. The Redbirds won 4-3 Friday, 2-0 Saturday and came from behind to defeat the Salukis 9-8 in 10 innings Saturday. Illinois State, which won a share of the MVC title in 2010, finished the 2013 Valley slate 16-5, edging Wichita State for the conference crown.
Bringing Home Hardware
In addition to winning the regular season MVC title, the Redbirds secured a number of season-ending Valley awards.
Missouri Valley Conference Coach of the Year - Mark Kingston
Kingston guided the Redbirds to the most successful regular season in program history. The Redbirds tied a program record with 36 overall wins, secured a program-best 12-game winning streak and won the MVC outright for the first time in school history. Illinois State finished the season with 24 wins over its final 28 games and finished 16-5 in the Valley. Kingston owns a 51-25 Valley record, with two titles, over four seasons at the helm of the Redbird baseball program.
Missouri Valley Conference Pitcher of the Year - Chris Razo
Razo, a senior right-handed pitcher from Chillicothe, Ill., became the first Redbird pitcher to win the MVC Pitcher of the Year award. After opening the season four-for-four in save opportunities, Razo transitioned seamlessly to the Redbird starting rotation. Over nine starts, Razo went 7-1 with a 1.48 ERA and tallied 58 strikeouts in 67.0 innings pitched. He collected five complete games, four of which came versus Valley opponents, and out-pitched both Nick Petree and Sean Manaea, two of the top league-hurlers, in games at Duffy Bass Field. Razo blanked Bradley, with a career-best nine strike outs, for his first collegiate shutout April 26 in Peoria, Ill.
Missouri Valley Conference Defensive Player of the Year - Brett Kay
Kay, a four-year starter for the Redbirds at shortstop, earned Illinois State's first MVC Defensive Player of the Year Award. The Arlington Heights, Ill., native posted a .972 fielding percentage with 188 assists in 54 starts at shortstop. Additionally, Kay batted .309 (batting average)/.404 (on-base percentage)/.426 (slugging percentage) with three home runs, nine doubles, three triples and 32 RBI. Kay was 9-for-10 on stolen base attempts and was the Redbird team leader in sacrifice bunts with seven.
Additionally, a Valley-record eight Redbirds collected MVC First-Team honors, as Eric Aguilera, Mike Hollenbeck, Zac Johnson, Jeremy Rhoades, Dan Savas, Kyle Stanton, Kay and Razo were recognized as top players in the conference. Outfielder Chad Hinshaw was a MVC Honorable Mention and both Kay and Hinshaw were named All-MVC Defensive Team members.
Finishing What They Start
The Redbirds clinched a Valley championship behind standout pitching. Redbird pitchers fired 12 complete-game victories in 2013. Chris Razo (5) leads the way, with Dan Savas (4), Brad Sorkin (1), Will Headean (1) and Steve Heilenbach (1) also having fired a complete-game this season. The Redbirds finished with a 2.71 ERA in Missouri Valley Conference games.
Red-Hot Redbirds
Four Redbirds carry on-base streaks of at least 3 games heading into MVC Championship play:
Brett Kay (6 games)
Chad Hinshaw (5 games)
Matt Krenz (3 games)
The following Redbirds have at least a two-game hitting streak:
Chad Hinshaw (3 games)
Paul DeJong, Zac Johnson (2 games)
Live radio of all three games can be heard on GoRedbirds.com and WJBC.com with Ronan O'Shea handling the play-by-play.
GoRedbirds.com: Your online source for Illinois State Athletics, tickets, Weisbecker Scholarship Fund gifts, multimedia, Redbird merchandise, photos and more.
