NORMAL, Ill. – The Illinois State baseball team will open Missouri Valley Conference play Friday as it heads to Dallas, Texas, to begin a three-game series against No. 15 Dallas Baptist.
Illinois State (11-10) is one of only two Valley teams that did not begin league play last weekend. Dallas Baptist (19-3) won two of three games at Evansville, March 20-22.
"Dallas Baptist has shown over the past year-and-a-half that it will be one of the top teams in the Missouri Valley Conference each season," said Illinois State head coach Bo Durkac. "They are pitching, hitting and defending at very high level right now, and they are extremely well-coached. We couldn't ask for a tougher opponent for our opening MVC series of 2015."
Illinois State enters the series riding a three-game winning streak, thanks to its weekend sweep of Eastern Kentucky, March 20-22, at Duffy Bass Field. The Redbirds averaged over 10 runs a game in the three-game set, while Redbird pitching limited the Colonels to just nine runs total over the three games.
The Redbirds' midweek game at No. 17 Illinois on March 24 was postponed due to inclement weather, with no makeup date immediately announced.
Dallas Baptist has enjoyed its time in the MVC so far, as it won the league tournament and advanced to NCAA Regional play in its first season of Valley play in 2014. The Patriots topped the Redbirds, 4-1, in the MVC Championship game last season, and was pegged to win the MVC title in 2015 in a preseason poll of league coaches.
The Patriots' No. 15 national ranking is the highest in program history. Â
Illinois State will look to starting pitchers Will Headean (3-1, 3.15 ERA) on Friday, Jacob Hendren (4-1, 3.23 ERA) and Jack Landwehr (2-2, 5.16 ERA) on Sunday.
The Redbirds will only have one day at home upon their return from Texas. They are back in action on Tuesday, March 31, at Eastern Illinois.
GoRedbirds.com: Your online source for Illinois State Athletics tickets, Weisbecker Scholarship Fund gifts, multimedia, Redbird merchandise, photos and more.Â
