Redbird Baseball Heads to Conway, Arkansas for Four Game Set

NORMAL, Ill. – The Illinois State baseball team will head back on the road for its second weekend series of the year against Central Arkansas in a four-game series with the Bears at Bear Stadium. First pitch for Saturday's game is set for 6 p.m., with a doubleheader Sunday scheduled for 1 p.m. The series finale will take place at noon on Monday.

Great Start

Illinois State scored double digit runs in each game of their sweep last weekend at Belmont. The Redbirds scored 27 on Friday, 14 on Saturday, and 10 on Sunday, winning by 16, 11 and four runs during the series.  

Illinois State's +10.3 scoring margin ranks fourth nationally after the first weekend of play. The Redbirds' 17 runs per game currently rank third nationally behind New Mexico State (24.5) and Arizona (17.2). 

The 16 runs scored in the 11th inning of Friday's 27-11 win are the most in a single inning nationally this season.

Rave Reviews

Redbird junior outfielder John Rave was voted Missouri Valley Conference Player of the Week Monday. The preseason All-MVC outfielder had a great start to the 2019 campaign, helping Illinois State sweep the Belmont Bruins in Nashville. Rave slashed .615/.762/.692 on the weekend, as he went 8-for-13 at the plate with a double, six RBI, and five runs scored. He also walked eight times, while stealing two bases.

Scouting the Bears

Coming into this year, the Bears were ranked fourth in the Southland Conference with senior first baseman Tyler Smith named to the Preseason All-Southland Conference Team. Central Arkansas dropped the weekend series to MVC foe Bradley, despite both teams scoring 18 runs on the weekend.

Series History

The Bears won the only game against Illinois State in the series history. The teams met back on March, 1, 2014, with Central Arkansas winning 7-0. The other scheduled game in the series was canceled.

Game Information

Live stats and a pay-per-view subscription of the series is available at GoRedbirds.com. Fans can follow along on Twitter @RedbirdBaseball and on Instagram @isuredbirdbaseball for live updates and more.

GoRedbirds.com and the Illinois State Redbirds App:  Your sources for Illinois State tickets, Weisbecker Scholarship Fund gifts, multimedia, Redbird merchandise, photos and more.

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