ISU Heads to MVC-Leading Wichita State for Weekend Series

NORMAL, Ill. – The Illinois State baseball team will travel to take on the Missouri Valley Conference-leading Wichita State Shockers in a three-game league series beginning Friday at Eck Stadium's Tyler Field.

The series will begin with a 6:30 p.m. game Friday, followed by a 2 p.m. contest Saturday and a 1 p.m. finale Sunday.

"Wichita State has played a strong schedule this year and is off to a hot start in league play. We will face a quality pitching staff and an offense that will put a lot of pressure on us with its speed," said Illinois State head coach Bo Durkac. "Those two elements plus having to play in Eck Stadium in front of their passionate fans make this weekend a huge challenge for us."

Illinois State (14-15, 1-5 MVC) enters the series after an 8-4 win over Northern Illinois on Tuesday at Duffy Bass Field. Wichita State (13-19, 5-1) enters following a 6-4 loss at No. 25 Texas on Tuesday, after taking two of three in a series with Indiana State last weekend.

The Redbirds have been led this season by redshirt junior Paul DeJong, who leads the squad in nearly every major statistical category, including batting average (.417), on-base percentage (.493), slugging percentage (.775), at-bats (120), hits (50), runs (31), doubles (10), home runs (11) and RBIs (35).

Illinois State will turn to the starting pitching rotation this weekend of Will Headean (3-2, 4.25 ERA), Jacob Hendren (5-1, 3.23) and Jack Landwehr (2-4, 6.21). Wichita State will counter with Jeb Bargfeldt (2-1, 3.71), Isaac Anderson (3-4, 3.31) and Tyler Jones (1-2, 7.77).

Wichita State holds a 96-23 edge in the all-time series with Illinois State, which includes a three-game sweep at Duffy Bass Field last season. The Redbirds defeated the Shockers twice at the Missouri Valley Conference Tournament, however, en route to the conference tournament's championship game.

The Redbirds only have one day off before returning to the field after this weekend's series. Illinois State hosts No. 12 Illinois Tuesday at Duffy Bass Field, with first pitch set for 4:30 p.m.

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