Game Notes | Live Video | Live Audio | Live Stats
NORMAL, Ill. – The Illinois State baseball team will welcome Southern Illinois to Duffy Bass Field for a three-game Missouri Valley Conference series beginning Friday.
The series opener Friday starts at 6 p.m. The second game is set for a 2 p.m. start Saturday and the finale a 1 p.m. first pitch Sunday. All Illinois State home games at Duffy Bass Field are free to attend.
Illinois State (10-25, 1-4 MVC) enters the series after posting a midweek win at SIUE Tuesday night. The Redbirds scored a 9-3 win over the Cougars as Owen Miller went 4-for-5 with a pair of doubles. Blake Molitor and Derek Parola homered during a six-run third inning, and Jean Ramirez added a solo blast later in the game. Jeffrey Barton pitched four strong innings with a career-high eight strikeouts in his second start of the season.
Illinois State's game Wednesday night against Illinois Wesleyan was rained out. After being moved from Wesleyan's campus to Duffy Bass Field, the 10th edition of the Horenberger-Bass Classic was called in the bottom of the second inning, with Illinois Wesleyan holding a 3-0 lead.
Southern Illinois (21-16-1, 2-4) enters the weekend series after taking one game of a three-game series at Valley foe Dallas Baptist last weekend. The Salukis also suffered a midweek loss, 7-1, to Arkansas State Tuesday.
The Salukis are led offensively by sophomore outfielder Greg Lambert (.351/.405/.459), who ranks third in the Valley in hits (52), just two back of the conference leader.
Southern Illinois will go with the starting pitching rotation of Chad Whitmer (3-2, 2.25 ERA), Joey Marciano (2-4, 4.53) and Michael Baird (6-2, 1.81). Illinois State will go with Steve Heilenbach (4-1, 2.37), David Meade (2-2, 4.37) and Jacob Hendren (1-7, 7.21).
Sunday's game will feature a BBQ for Red Alert members. The first 200 students in attendance will receive a free hot dog.Â
Links for live video, audio and stats can be found at GoRedbirds.com. Fans can also receive live updates from the games via Twitter, by following @RedbirdBaseball.
GoRedbirds.com: Your online source for Illinois State Athletics tickets, Weisbecker Scholarship Fund gifts, multimedia, Redbird merchandise, photos and more.
