Redbirds Visit Edwardsville; Play SIUE Twice

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Mar. 17, 2014

NORMAL, Ill. - The Illinois State Redbirds (11-5, 0-0 Missouri Valley Conference) will play a pair of seven inning non-conference games Tuesday afternoon at SIUE (10-6, 0-0 Ohio Valley Conference). Game one will begin at 2:00 p.m. at the Simmons Baseball Complex. The Redbirds enter the contest a season-best six games over .500.

The Opposition: Southern Illinois University Edwardsville Cougars (6-10, 0-0 OVC)
• Southern Illinois University University - Edwardsville is a public university located in Edwardsville, Ill., roughly 20 miles northeast of St. Louis, Mo. SIUE was established in 1957 and enrolls 13,850 students.
• The Cougars are guided by third-year head coach Tony Stoecklin. Stoecklin is in his 15th season as a member of the Cougar couching staff.
• The first season of SIUE baseball was 1968. The Cougars made the NCAA tournament in 2007.
• SIUE went 16-25 in 2013 nad lost eight letterwinners from that squad.
• Illinois State is 11-6-1 all-time versus SIUE. The two teams last met in 2013 at SIUE.

Last Time Out
Illinois State swept a non-conference doubleheader versus Western Illinois Saturday afternoon at The Corn Crib in Normal, Ill. The Redbirds won game one, 11-2, and came-from-behind to earn a victory in game two, 5-3. Illinois State is now a season-best six games over .500.

Dan Savas allowed one earned run in six innings of work to win his fifth-straight start this spring as Illinois State defeated Western Illinois, 11-2, in game one of Saturday's doubleheader at The Corn Crib. Savas struck out six, walked three and allowed just two hits. He has now won 15-consecutive decisions dating back to 2013. Jeremy Rhoades (3) worked three perfect relief innings for the save. Rhoades struck out six to secure his ninth-career save. Paul DeJong paced an 11-hit Illinois State attack and collected a career-high four hits, including two doubles, with two RBI and two runs scored. The victory marked the 150th career-win for Illinois State head coach Mark Kingston.

Mike Hollenbeck tallied a career-high four RBI to help lift David Suarez (1-0) to his first-collegiate victory in ISU's 5-3 win in game two Saturday versus Western Illinois. Suarez worked 2.2 innings and struck out a career-best six to earn the win. Dylan Craig allowed three earned runs in six innings of work and added six strikeouts for a no-decision. John White (0-1) did not record and out and suffered the loss for the Leathernecks.

Paul DeJong reached base four times, including a stretch of eight-straight plate appearances dating back to game one, to help power the Illinois State offense. Hollenbeck had three hits and Sean Beesley added two hits for the Redbirds.

Redbirds Lead NCAA In K/9
Entering the week, the Illinois State Redbirds rank first in the NCAA in strikeouts-per-nine-innings. Illinois State has amassed 146 strikeouts in 138.1 innings of work. Dyan Craig leads ISU with 35 strikeouts in 31.0 innings, while Dan Savas has added 27 strikeouts in 32.0 innings and Jeremy Rhoades has 25 strikeouts in 15.1 innings of work. Closer David Suarez has fanned 14 batters in 10.2 innings.

Savas Hits 15
Redbird starter Dan Savas (5-0) won his 15th-consecutive decision Saturday as Illinois State cruised past Western Illinois 11-2 at The Corn Crib. Savas, who went 10-0 in 2013, has won all-five of his starts this spring. The Preseason All-American is 15-0 in his last 20 starts and hasn't lost since 2011.

Streaking
Mike Hollenbeck extended his on-base streak to 16 games over the weekend. He has reached safely in every game this spring for Illinois State. With six-combined hits over two games Saturday, Redbird infielder Paul DeJong currently has a 15-game hitting streak for Illinois State. The Redbirds are batting .293/.389/.409 as a team and have 37 doubles, six triples and five home runs.

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