NORMAL, Ill. – Illinois State head baseball coach Bo Durkac has announced his team's 2018 schedule, which includes 19 home games at Duffy Bass Field, nine games against 2017 NCAA Tournament qualifiers and a trip to Washington and Hawaii over spring break, all in addition to a full slate of Missouri Valley Conference games.
"The highlight of our 2018 schedule is, of course, the trip to Washington and Hawaii," Durkac said. "It's the second time in three years that we will play a Pac-12 opponent on its home field, and the four games in Hawaii will be a once-in-a-lifetime experience for our players, coaches and staff.
"We are also excited to add Creighton to the slate for the first time since 2013, part of a home-and-home series that will take us to TD Ameritrade Park in 2019. We are already looking forward to Opening Day of 2018."
Illinois State opens the season at Arkansas State (Feb. 16-18). The Redbirds will be on the road the following two weekends, at Tennessee Tech (Feb. 23-25) and Morehead State (March 2-4). Highlighting the nonconference slate, Illinois State will play eight games over nine days, with four games each at Washington (March 9-12) and Hawaii (March 15-17), over spring break.
The Redbirds will then return to campus to host their home opener on March 20 against in-state rival Illinois, at Duffy Bass Field. Illinois State will also host Creighton for a three-game weekend series (March 23-25).
The Redbirds begin Missouri Valley Conference play at home against Southern Illinois (March 30-April 1). The series will be the first of four league series at home for the Redbirds, as they also host Dallas Baptist (April 6-8), Bradley (May 4-6) and conference newcomer Valparaiso (May 11-13). Illinois State will take on MVC foes Indiana State (April 13-15), Missouri State (April 20-22) and Evansville (May 17-19) on the road.
The Redbirds are slated to host midweek games against SIUE (April 17) and Northwestern (April 18). Illinois State will be on the road for midweek contests at Western Illinois (March 27), Eastern Illinois (April 3), Illinois (April 10), Illinois Wesleyan (April 11) and Milwaukee (May 1).
Illinois State will play a short home-and-away weekend series versus Butler (April 28-29), playing first in Indianapolis, Indiana, before a return date at Duffy Bass Field the following day.
Dallas Baptist will host the MVC Tournament for the first time May 23-26 in Dallas, Texas.
The Illinois State baseball team met Dallas Baptist in the 2017 MVC Tournament's title game as the Redbirds surged at the finish of the season. Illinois State defeated nationally-ranked Missouri State three times over the final two weeks of the season, and was the only Valley team to beat the Bears a year ago.
Illinois State's full 2018 schedule is available online at GoRedbirds.com.
GoRedbirds.com: Your online source for Illinois State Athletics tickets, Weisbecker Scholarship Fund gifts, multimedia, Redbird merchandise, photos and more.
