Baseball Returns Home for Eastern Illinois Match-Up on Wednesday

At this time, attendance is limited to player pass list only and not open to the general public.

NORMAL, Ill. – The Illinois State baseball team returns home for a mid-week match-up against Eastern Illinois, set for 6:00 p.m. CT on Wednesday.

SERIES INFORMATION
Illinois State (5-12, 0-0 MVC) vs Eastern Illinois (13-3, 4-2 OVC) 

Days/Times: Wednesday, March 24 (6:00 p.m. CT) 

City: Normal, Illinois 

Field: Duffy Bass Field 

Radio: https://wznd.com/

Live Stats: http://stats.statbroadcast.com/statmonitr/?id=344741

PROJECTED PITCHER FOR ILLINOIS STATE

Cameron Mabee (10 IP, 7.20 ERA, 4 K) 

LAST TIME OUT
Illinois State dropped all three games at consensus top-10 East Carolina. 

The 'Birds tied game one in the 9th inning before falling the 11th, led by multiple runs in game two, and scored the game's first three runs in game three before giving up the game's next nine. ISU cut the deficit to one run in game three but came up short. 

SERIES HISTORY
The Redbirds and Panthers have met 176 times in a series history with EIU leading, 85-90-1. The first game of the series was played in 1907. The most recent contest was on 4/2/2019 

The 4/2/2019 game saw ISU win, 3-0. Gunner Peterson recorded a 2-RBI double in the 3rd inning in which the Redbirds scored all three of their runs. Brett Wicklund tossed a 3-hit shutout, the last time an ISU pitcher has thrown a complete game shutout (or complete game at all). 

SCOUTING THE PANTHERS
EIU is 10-9 in 2021, having back-to-back games at Tennessee Tech. The Panthers have a pair of wins at 

Kansas State in 2021. EIU lost to the MVC's Southern Illinois, 10-9 earlier this season. 

Both Trey Sweeney and Christian Pena have reached base safely in the last 18 games for EIU. Logan Eickhoff is tied for the nation's lead in hits with 36. Eickhoff is tied with Connor Norby from East Carolina, whom the Redbirds just faced.  

RANKED WINS
The Redbirds have won some notable games under third-year head coach Steve Holm. In 2020, the team defeated No. 23 Oklahoma and No. 13 Arkansas, both on the road. In 2019, the team defeated No. 1 Vanderbilt, the eventual National Champions. The team also beat No. 7 Louisville on the road in the NCAA Tournament. 

REIGNING CHAMPS
The Redbirds are technically reigning champions of the Missouri Valley Conference after splitting the conference title in 2019, ISU's third MVC title (2019, 2013, 2010). 

Illinois State was picked to finish second in the MVC behind Dallas Baptist in the preseason poll. 

For the latest updates on Illinois State Baseball, stay tuned at GoRedbirds.com, follow the Redbirds on Twitter (@RedbirdBaseball) and Instagram (isuredbirdbaseball), and like the team on Facebook (Illinois State Baseball). 

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