The Bo Durkac Show
NORMAL, Ill. – The Illinois State baseball team will make the short trip down Interstate 74 to take on in-state foe Illinois on Tuesday at 4 p.m. at Illinois Field.
Both teams enter Tuesday's midweek contest with identical 5-12 records. The Redbirds return to action after going 3-5 on its annual spring break trip. Illinois lost three of four games over the weekend at Illinois Field, splitting two games with Toledo and losing twice to Southern Illinois.
Illinois State begins its final week of play before hosting its home opener next Tuesday, March 28, at Duffy Bass Field. By the time Illinois State hosts Saint Louis next Tuesday, the Redbirds will have played 21-straight games, against 10 different opponents, at away or neutral sites.
Leading the charge for Illinois State offensively has been sophomore Owen Miller, who leads his team and the entire Missouri Valley Conference with 29 hits. Miller also leads the Redbirds with a .372 batting average (fourth in the MVC) and 21 RBIs (second in the MVC).
Drawing the start for the Redbirds Tuesday will be freshman left-hander Colton Johnson (1-1, 3.21 ERA), who allowed two runs over four innings in Illinois State's 9-2 win at Tennessee Tech on March 15, in his most recent outing.
Illinois will go with freshman right-hander Cyrillo Watson (0-1, 8.64), who will be making his first-ever collegiate start.
Illinois owns a 48-33 edge in the all-time series between the two teams, and has won the past three contests.
Links for live video and stats are available at GoRedbirds.com, and fans can follow @RedbirdBaseball on Twitter for live updates and more.
GoRedbirds.com: Your online source for Illinois State Athletics tickets, Weisbecker Scholarship Fund gifts, multimedia, Redbird merchandise, photos and more.
