NORMAL, Ill. – The Illinois State Redbirds will open the 2020 season at Little Rock, Ark., beginning with a 3 p.m. matchup Friday afternoon. The two teams will face-off Saturday at 2 p.m., before wrapping up the series at 1 p.m. Sunday.
Redbirds Picked Third in MVC Preseason Poll
A year after finishing as co-champions of the Missouri Valley Conference, the Illinois State baseball team was selected to finish third in the annual Preseason MVC Coaches' Poll. Dallas Baptist, who shared the crown with the Redbirds a year ago, was picked to finish first after gathering 61 total points. Missouri State was tabbed second with 51 total points, with Illinois State close behind with 49 points. Indiana State was selected to finish fourth (40), while Bradley (38) was picked fifth. Evansville (21), Southern Illinois (18) and Valparaiso (10) rounded out the poll.
Familiar Faces
Despite losing multiple key players to the draft and graduation, the Redbirds bring back a solid core of players headlined by preseason All-MVC picks in senior infielder Joe Butler, redshirt-junior outfielder Jack Butler, senior left-handed pitcher Colton Johnson and senior outfielder/designated hitter Jordan Libman. In total, five position starters and nine pitchers return from last season's roster.
Tough Road Ahead
The Redbirds will be spending a lot of time away from Normal to start the season, as ISU will be on the road for the first six weeks of the season before its home opener on March 24 against Northwestern. ISU's road slate opens up with three straight weekend series' against Little Rock (Feb. 14-16), Oklahoma (Feb. 21-23) and Louisiana Monroe (Feb. 28-March 1). The Redbirds will then continue with four mid-week road games, the Jacksonville Invite and two other road series. Overall, the Redbirds will face-off with eight opponents that appeared in last year's NCAA Tournament, including No.1-seeded Arkansas.
Scouting the Trojans
Little Rock enters the 2020 campaign with high expectations after posting a 29-28 overall record and 18-11 finish in Sun Belt Conference play a season ago. The Trojans return three position starters and six pitchers from last year's squad, including Preseason All-SBC selections in redshirt junior catcher Kale Emshoff and redshirt senior third baseman Garrett Scott. Under head coach Chris Curry, the Trojans were selected to finish fourth in the six-team Sun Belt Conference West Division.
Series History
The series between the Redbirds and Trojans marks the first ever meeting between the two clubs.
Game Information
For all latest on Illinois State baseball, stay tuned at GoRedbirds.com and follow the team at @RedbirdBaseball (Twitter, Facebook, Instagram).
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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.
