Baseball Battles D-3 Foes Illinois Wesleyan, MacMurray

NORMAL, Ill. - Following a Valley-series win at Missouri State over the weekend, Illinois State (24-12, 7-5 MVC) battles a pair of NCAA Division-III opponents this week, starting Tuesday night at Illinois Wesleyan (16-13). The Redbirds host MacMurray (10-22) Wednesday afternoon at Duffy Bass Field with first pitch slated for 3:00 p.m.

Pitching Probables
Tue.
Will Headean (Illinois State) LHP 2-1, 4.61 ERA
Kyle Snedeker (Illinois Wesleyan) RHP 1-1, 2.51 ERA
Wed.
Matt Lambert (Illinois State) RHP 1-0, 8.25 ERA
TBA (MacMurray)

The Opposition: Illinois Wesleyan Titans (16-13, 10-5 CCIW)
• Illinois Wesleyan University is a private liberal arts college located in Bloomington, Ill. It was founded in 1850 and currently enrolls 2,020 undergraduate students. 
• The Titans compete at the NCAA Division-III level and are members of the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin.
• Illinois Wesleyan is guided by 27th-year head coach Dennis Martel. He has led the Titans to eight CCIW titles and won the Divison III National Championship in 2010.
• In 2004, Illinois State and Illinois Wesleyan agreed to play once per season in what is known as the Horenberger-Bass Classic. Jack Horenberger was the Illinois Wesleyan head baseball coach from 1942-1981 and posted an all-time record of 509-401-5. Duffy Bass coached Illinois State from 1964-1988, going 713-457-18 with a College Division National Championship in 1969. Illinois State is 5-2 in the Horenberger-Bass Classic and defeated the Titans, 15-5, last spring at Duffy Bass Field. Tuesday's contest is the first game at Illinois Wesleyan since the Redbirds defeated IWU 12-4 in 2010. 
• Illinois State is 84-70-0 all-time versus Illinois Wesleyan dating back to 1890.

MacMurray College Highlanders (10-22, 6-17 SLIAC)
• MacMurray College is a four-year, private college located in Jacksonville, Ill. It was founded in 1846 and currently enrolls 571 students. 
• The Highlanders compete at the NCAA Division-III level and are members of the St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference.
• MacMurray is led by first-year head coach Justin Fuhler.
• The Redbirds are 19-2 all-time versus MacMurray dating back to 1965. Illinois State won two games versus the Highlanders last year at Duffy Bass Field.

Last Time Out
After a 6-2 non-conference victory over Illinois Tuesday afternoon at Duffy Bass Field, Illinois State won its Missouri Valley Conference series over the weekend at Missouri State.

Dan Savas fired a complete-game with a season-best eight strikeouts, but Missouri State rallied for four runs late to defeat Illinois State, 4-2, Friday afternoon at Hammons Field. The Redbirds tallied just two hits in defeat. Savas (7-2) worked eight innings allowing four runs, all earned, on seven hits for the loss. Jon Harris (2-3) pitched 5.1 relief innings for the Bears and struck out five batters en route to the win. Sam Perez (2) retired all four batters he faced to secure the save.

Dylan Craig allowed only one run over seven innings to guide Illinois State to a 6-1 Valley win over Missouri State Saturday afternoon. Illinois State out-hit the Bears, 13-3, in the win. Craig (5-1) struck out six, walked three and scattered three hits. Brock Stewart (1) worked the final two innings with one strikeout and one walk to secure his first collegiate save. Paul DeJong paced the Redbird offense and matched a career-high with four hits. He launched a two-run home run in the ninth inning and added a pair of doubles. Joe Kelch, making his first start since March 29, joined Sean Beesley, Dennis Colon, and Brian Rodemoyer with two hits each.

Brian Rodemoyer doubled, homered and walked three times to help power Illinois State to a 7-1 Valley win Sunday afternoon at Missouri State. The victory secured a series-win for Illinois State and pushed the Redbirds to a season-best 12-games over .500. Rodemoyer's career-day helped Illinois State out-hit Missouri State, 14-5. The Redbirds also drew eight walks in the win. Daniel Dwyer and Mike Hollenbeck both reached base four times and Dennis Colon matched a career-high with three hits. Jeremy Rhoades (4-3) worked eight innings of one-run ball for his fourth victory of the season. Rhoades struck out four, scattered five hits and walked six.

Illinois State has now won three of four series' in Valley play.

DeJong's Slam Powers Redbirds Over Illinois
Paul DeJong's second inning grand slam last Tuesday helped propel the Redbirds to a 6-2 non-conference victory over Illinois at Duffy Bass Field. The home run was the first Redbird grand slam since Chad Hinshaw clared the bases in a 17-6 win over Miami, 17-6, on March 12, 2013 in Coral Gables, Fla. Brock Stewart also lifted a solo home run for the Redbirds Tuesday, marking the fifth time this season Illinois State has powered a multi-home run game.

NCAA Leaders In Strikeouts-Per Nine Innings
Illinois State pitching is currently tied with Cal Poly to lead the NCAA in strikeouts-per nine innings with a team-stat of 9.4. Vanderbilt (9.2), North Carolina State (9.1), and Texas Christian University (9.1) round out the top five. Valley-foe Dallas Baptist (8.6) ranks seventh nationally. There are no other Missouri Valley Conference schools in the top 50. 

Stewart Secures First-Collegiate Save
Redshirt junior Brock Stewart secured his first-collegiate save in Saturday's 6-1 Missouri Valley Conference victory at Missouri State. Stewart, who started the game at third base for Illinois State, worked two scoreless innings with one strikeout and one walk to finish ISU's victory. Stewart has started 28 games this season for Illinois State and is batting .198/.305/.327 with eight doubles, one triple, one home run and 12 RBI. He has pitched in six games in relief, going 1-1 with a 1.93 ERA. Stewart has struck out 14 batters and walked four in 9.1 innings of work.

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