NORMAL, Ill. – As part of its 18-day road trip, the Illinois State baseball squad will travel to Monroe, Louisiana to take on the Louisiana-Monroe Warhawks as part of a three-game series beginning at 4 p.m. Friday.
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.
Ranked Win
A five-run third inning ignited by Joe Butler and Braedon Blackford's home runs paced the Redbirds to a 7-5 victory over then No. 23-ranked Oklahoma in Norman, Okla. The bullpen was key in the win, as it allowed just two runs (both earned) on 3 hits in 5.2 innings pitched. The series was very close overall, as each game was decided by three runs or less. Two of Illinois State's losses were by one run.
Mound Dominance
In a series that had multiple pitching battles throughout, Colton Johnson put together a solid performance in game one against the No. 23-ranked Oklahoma Sooners. In 7.0 innings pitched, Johnson allowed just two runs on four hits while also walking two. Along with this, Johnson racked up 10 strikeouts, which is a career-high. In two starts this season, Johnson has averaged 9.0 strikeouts per game. Redshirt freshman left-handed pitcher Sean Sinisko also put together his second straight quality start for the Redbirds to begin his Illinois State career. In game three of a four-game set at No. 23-ranked Oklahoma, Sinisko tossed 6.1 innings, allowing just two runs (both earned) on six hits, while walking one. He also hurled a career-high nine strikeouts.
Back to Back
For the second time in as many weekends, the Redbirds hit two home runs in the same inning. Last weekend, Joe Butler hit a solo home run in a game two loss at Little Rock, and that was followed by a three-run shot by Jake McCaw. In a game four 7-5 win at Oklahoma, Butler laced a grand slam to left field, and Braedon Blackford followed that with a bomb of his own, the first home run of Blackford's Illinois State career.
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 Warhawks
Louisiana-Monroe has gotten off to a hot start to begin the 2020 campaign, as the Warhawks currently boast a 7-1 record despite being selected to finish sixth out of six teams in the Sun Belt Conference's West Division. The Warhawks have put up at least seven runs offensively in six out of their eight games played, including four games that they have scored 13 runs or more. ULM returns seven position players and 11 pitchers from last season's 27-31 team.
Series History
The series between the Redbirds and Warhawks marks the first ever meeting between the two clubs.
Game Information
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