NORMAL, Ill. – The Illinois State Redbirds will travel to No. 23-ranked Oklahoma this weekend for a four-game set beginning with a 3 p.m. matchup Friday in Norman, Okla.
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.
Opening Weekend
The Redbirds opened up the 2020 campaign with a three-game set at Little Rock Feb. 14-16, dropping the first two contests before winning the third game 4-2. Derek Salata (1-0) got the win for the Redbirds, with Brady Huffman notching the save (1). Illinois State scored three runs in the top half of the ninth inning in the victory.
Redbird Debuts
Multiple new faces helped contribute in Illinois State's opening weekend, as eight different Redbirds made their ISU debut against Little Rock. Junior infielder Kyle Soberano knocked in three hits while starting all three games at second base. Two of Soberano's hits came in Sunday's 4-2 come from behind victory over the Trojans.
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 Sooners
Oklahoma enters the week ranked in most national polls after taking two out of three games against Virginia this past weekend. The Sooners are ranked as high as No. 15 in the Perfect Game rankings, and currently sit at No. 23 in D1Baseball.com's weekly poll. Entering the season, the Sooners were selected to finish fifth in the Big 12 Conference. Oklahoma returns eight of its nine position starters and nine key pitchers from last year's squad that finished 33-23.
Series History
The series between the Redbirds and Sooners 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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