NORMAL, Ill. – The Illinois State baseball team will play its final non-conference games of the 2015 season this weekend when it welcomes in SIU Edwardsville for a four-game series, beginning Friday at Duffy Bass Field.
The series will open with a 4:30 p.m. game Friday afternoon, followed by a twin bill beginning at 12 p.m. Saturday. Sunday's finale is set for a 1 p.m. start.
"The weekend's games will be the final non-conference games of the season for us this year, and I am excited to play a quality opponent from a good conference as a tune-up for the home stretch of the season," said Illinois State head coach Bo Durkac. "Coach (Tony) Stoecklin will have his players prepared, and I expect to see a lot of good baseball from the Redbirds and the Cougars over the next three days."
Illinois State (21-21) enters the four-game series following a 9-6 loss at Purdue Tuesday. The Redbirds earned their first win over a ranked opponent in over eight years, thanks to a 4-1 win over then-No. 15 Missouri State on April 25, although the visiting Bears won the other two games of the series.
SIUE (15-22) enters the series following a 14-10 loss at Western Illinois Wednesday, after posting a three-game sweep of UT-Martin last weekend in Edwardsville.
Illinois State will look to the starters Will Headean (4-2, 4.06 ERA), Jacob Hendren (8-1, 3.30), Steve Heilenbach (0-2, 5.06) and one pitcher still to be determined. SIUE will counter with P.J. Schuster (5-3, 6.08), Jarrett Bednar (2-4, 7.83), Ryan Daniels (3-5, 7.36) and a starter to be determined later.
Illinois State's University Program Board (UPB) will host "All About that Baseball" on Friday at Duffy Bass Field, with a pregame barbecue tailgate event hosted by UPB, beginning at 3:30 p.m. at the first baseline tent. The first 100 students to bring another school's T-shirt to donate to Home Sweet Home Ministries will receive a Redbird baseball 3/4-sleeve T-shirt.
Saturday will be Redbird For Life (RB4L) Day, presented by AFNI. All former Redbird baseball players, coaches and managers are welcomed back for the doubleheader, and all ISU baseball alumni will be recognized on the field prior to the first game for their contributions to the Redbird baseball program.
The weekend series will mark Illinois State's final regular-season games against a non-conference opponent. The Redbirds will play two more three-game MVC series – at Bradley (May 8-10) and at home against Indiana State (May 14-16) – before heading to the MVC Tournament, in Wichita, Kansas, May 19-23.
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