NORMAL, Ill. – Illinois State will hit the road this weekend, as they return to Missouri Valley Conference play against Southern Illinois. The Redbirds and Salukis will play a three-game series in Carbondale with the first pitch on Friday scheduled for 6:30 p.m. Saturday's contest is scheduled for 2 p.m. while the series finale on Sunday is slated for 1 p.m.
Illinois State Redbirds (22-15, 5-1 MVC)
This is Illinois State's best conference start since 2010 when the team started 5-1 as well. The Redbirds won the MVC Tournament Championship that season. The 'Birds currently lead the MVC in batting average (.312) and doubles (21), while ranking second in runs (46) and home runs (8).
Southern Illinois Salukis (17-16, 1-5 MVC)
Southern Illinois comes into the weekend on a four-game losing skid as the Salukis dropped its mid-week matchup to Austin Peay after being swept at Bradley last weekend. SIU is currently batting .215 in conference play with nine doubles, 18 runs, with just one home run.
Series History
Illinois State and Southern Illinois are tied in the all-time series at 88-88-1. The Salukis took the conference series last season from the Redbirds winning two of the three games. Southern Illinois outscored Illinois State by three runs during the set.
Game Information
Live stats will be available for the series online at GoRedbirds.com. Fans can also watch and listen to the games on ESPN 3 and the Salukis All-Access, respectively. For updates on Illinois State baseball, follow the Redbirds on Twitter (@RedbirdBaseball) and Instagram (@isuredbirdbaseball).
GoRedbirds.com and the Illinois State Redbirds App:Â Your sources for Illinois State tickets, Weisbecker Scholarship Fund gifts, multimedia, Redbird merchandise, photos and more.
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