Game Notes | Live Video | Live Audio | Live Stats
NORMAL, Ill. – The Illinois State baseball team will welcome Missouri Valley Conference foe Wichita State to Duffy Bass Field for a three-game series beginning Friday, in what will be Illinois State's final home games of the 2016 season.
The Redbirds and Shockers will play Friday at 6 p.m., Saturday at 2 p.m. and Sunday at 1 p.m. All Illinois State home baseball games are free to attend.
Illinois State (15-31, 5-9 MVC) enters the series after a 4-3 non-conference loss at Wisconsin-Milwaukee Wednesday. The Redbirds lost two of three to Bradley last weekend at Duffy Bass Field, and needed late heroics to avoid a series sweep Sunday.
In the series finale, Illinois State scored a 4-3, walk-off win when Blake Molitor singled to left field to score Owen Miller from second base. The run didn't come easily, however, as Miller slipped past an initial tag with a headfirst slide, then recovered quickly to sidestep another tag attempt and slap home plate for the game-winning run.
Wichita State (18-31, 7-8) enters the series after a 7-3 home win over No. 25 Creighton Tuesday night. The Shockers lost two of three games to Indiana State last week.
Wichita State is led offensively by the infield duo of Trey Vickers and Greyson Jenista, the team's co-leaders in batting average, with identical .315 marks. Catcher Gunnar Troutwine leads the Shockers with 34 RBIs, thanks in part to his team-leading seven home runs.
Illinois State will go with a pitching rotation of Steve Heilenbach (5-3, 2.85 ERA), David Meade (2-3, 3.65) and Jacob Hendren (2-7, 5.97). Wichita State will counter with left-hander Cody Tyler (3-2, 4.38) on Friday and right-hander Clayton McGinness (2-2, 6.89) on Saturday. Sunday's starter is TBA.
Wichita State owns a 97-26 advantage in the all-time series against Illinois State, although the Redbirds won all three games of a series at Wichita State last year, marking the first time the Shockers had ever been swept in a three-game conference series at Eck Stadium. Wichita State got its revenge in the MVC Tournament, however, earning a 4-3, come-from-behind over the Redbirds in the opening round.
Prior to Sunday's game, Illinois State will recognize all 11 of its senior players: Joe Kelch, Jared Hendren, Jake Sale, Jack Czeszewski, Jean Ramirez, Sean Beesley, Brian Rodemoyer, Daniel Dwyer, Jacob Hendren, Molitor and Heilenbach.
Links for live video, audio and stats for all three games of this weekend's series are available at GoRedbirds.com. Fans can also receive live updates by following @RedbirdBaseball on Twitter.
GoRedbirds.com: Your online source for Illinois State Athletics tickets, Weisbecker Scholarship Fund gifts, multimedia, Redbird merchandise, photos and more.Â
