Mar. 6, 2014
Illinois state at RussMatt Central Florida invitational | Mar. 7-Mar. 11 |
Location: Winter Haven, Fla. (Chain of Lakes Park - 7,000) |
Friday 3/7: 2:00 p.m. CST vs. LIU Brooklyn |
Saturday 3/8: 3:30 p.m. CST vs. LIU Brooklyn |
Sunday 3/9: 1:00 p.m. CST vs Bucknell | 16
Tuesday 3/11: 1:00 p.m. CST vs Bowling Green |
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AudioNow: 213.493.0197 (Listen to Play-by-Play on your cellular device without using data) |
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WINTER HAVEN, Fla. - For the fifth-consecutive season, the Illinois State Redbirds (6-3, 0-0 Missouri Valley Conference) will participate in the RussMatt Central Florida Invitational and will open a four-game set beginning Friday afternoon at Chain of Lakes Park in Winter Haven, Fla. The Redbirds will play LIU Brooklyn on Friday and Saturday, Buckell on Sunday and conclude the invitational with a Tuesday matinee contest versus Bowling Green. All four games can be heard live on GoRedbirds.com and WJBC.com.
Probable Pitching Match-Ups
Friday - 2:00 p.m.
Dan Savas (ISU) RS Jr. RHP, 3-0, 0.45 ERA
TBA
Saturday - 3:30 p.m.
Dylan Craig (ISU) RS So. LHP, 2-0, 1.50 ERA
TBA
Sunday - 1:00 p.m.
Jeremy Rhoades (ISU) Jr. RHP, 0-1, 1.42 ERA
TBA
Tuesday - 1:00 p.m.
Steve Heilenbach (ISU) So. RHP, 0-0, 0.00 ERA
TBA
The Opposition: Long Island University Brooklyn Blackbirds (3-5, 0-0 NEC)
• Long Island University is a private, nonsectarian institution located in Brooklyn, New York. It was established in 1926 and enrolls 10,634 undergraduate students.
• LIU Brooklyn has 14 NCAA Division I sports teams.
• The Blackbirds are guided by veteran head coach Don Maines. Maines is in his ninth season as head coach at LIU Brooklyn and owns an overall record of 143-275-2.
• Illinois State is 1-0 all-time versus LIU Brooklyn and defeated the Blackbirds last spring in Florida.
The Opposition: Bucknell University Bison (4-5, 0-0 Patriot)
• Bucknell University is a private, liberal arts university located in Lewisburg, Pennsylvania.
• Bucknell was established in 1846 and currently enrolls 3,500 undergraduate students.
• The Bison are led by head coach Scott Heather, who took over the program on June 18, 2012.
• The Redbirds are 2-0 all-time versus Bucknell and last played the Bison in 2008.
The Opposition: Bowling Green University Falcons (2-7, 0-0 MAC)
• Bowling Green State University is a public university located in Bowling Green, Ohio. The university was established in 1910 and boasts 17,706 students.
• The Falcons are coached by Danny Schmitz, who took over the BGSU baseball program in 1990.
• Schmitz owns an all-time record of 614-588-5 and has won seven MAC titles.
• The Redbirds are 4-1 all-time versus BGSU and won three of four games versus the Falcons last spring.
Last Time Out
Illinois State went 2-1 last weekend and played both North Dakota and Central Arkansas in Conway, Ark. Dan Savas (3-0) pitched a season-best eight innings to lead Illinois State to a 5-1 victory over North Dakota Friday night. On Saturday, the Redbirds split a doubleheader, defeating North Dakota, 4-0, before falling at Central Arkansas, 7-0. It marked the first time Illinois State was shut out since Feb. 18, 2012. Sunday's contest between Illinois State and UCA was cancelled due to poor weather. Illinois State's midweek, non-conference tilt at SIUE was also cancelled due to winter weather. A makeup date has not yet been scheduled.
Savas Remains Perfect
Preseason All-American Dan Savas allowed an unearned run in eight innings of work, guiding Illinois State to a 5-1 victory of North Dakota Friday night in Conway, Ark. The right-hander tallied a season-best eight strikeouts and walked two, scattering five hits in the win. Savas worked out of trouble early, stranding five base runners over the first two innings, and eventually retired eight-consecutive UND batters. The Rosemont, Ill., native lowered his earned run average to 0.45 with the victory, and has won all three of his starts this season. Savas was named a preseason All-MVC selection and was First-Team All-Valley last year after going 10-0 for the Valley-Champion Redbirds.
Neutral-Site Wins
With a pair of wins over North Dakota in Conway, Ark. last weekend, Illinois State improved to 3-1 this spring in neutral-site contests. Earlier this season, Illinois State went 1-1 versus Butler University in Nashville, Tenn. The Redbirds will travel to Winter Haven, Fla., this weekend to compete in four contests in the RussMatt Central Florida Invitational. The Redbirds will play LIU Brooklyn twice, Bucknell and Bowling Green in neutral-site games.
Defensive Woes
Illinois State committed 12 errors during its three-game weekend series in Conway, Ark. The Redbirds tallied six errors in Friday's 5-1 victory over North Dakota. ISU then committed three errors in Saturday's game one win versus North Dakota, and three more errors in Saturday evening's 7-0 loss to Central Arkansas. Despite the defensive miscues, Illinois State won two of its three games to improve to 6-3 on the season. Illinois State has a .940 fielding percentage through nine games this spring.
Two-Way Players
Two Illinois State position players have seen action this season out of the Redbird bullpen. During the season-opening weekend versus Butler in Nashville, Tenn., Illinois State third baseman Brock Stewart fired one scoreless inning with one hit and two strikeouts as Illinois State defeated Butler, 9-1. Redbird outfielder Jack Czeszewski came on in relief in the eighth inning of Illinois State's 14-8 loss on Feb. 23 at Arkansas State and worked one scoreless inning with two strikeouts and two hits. Earlier in the game, Czeszewski clubbed his first-career home run to give Illinois State a brief 3-0 advantage. No position players saw relief action for the Redbirds in 2013.
Kingston's Crown
Entering his fifth season as the head coach of the Illinois State baseball program, Mark Kingston has
emerged as one of the premiere young coaches in NCAA baseball. In his first four seasons as a head
coach, Kingston has twice been named Missouri Valley Conference Coach of the Year, has won a pair of
MVC Championships and has twice broken single-season school win records. Kingston has also amassed
four-consecutive 30+ win seasons for the first time in Illinois State history. Additionally, 24 Redbirds have
earned all-MVC honors and eight have been selected in the Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft.
For the second consecutive season Kingston was named a "Rising College Coach" by Kendall
Rogers of Perfect Game USA. Kingston's coaching staff has remained untouched in his tenure in Normal as
Bo Durkac (associate head coach), Bill Mohl (pitching coach) and Mike Current (assistant coach) return to
their roles this spring.
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