NORMAL, Ill. – The Illinois State baseball team is set to return to Missouri Valley Conference action after traveling to Milwaukee last weekend as it hosts Evansville for a four-game series over April 23-25. All games will be on ESPN3.
GAME INFORMATION
Illinois State (13-21, 4-4 MVC) vs Evansville (19-15, 4-7 MVC)
Days/Times (CT):
Friday, April 23, 2:00 p.m.
Saturday, April 24, 1:00 p.m. (7 innings), 4:00 p.m.
Sunday, April 25, 1:00 p.m.
City: Normal, Illinois
Field: Duffy Bass Field
TV (ESPN3): bit.ly/UEVideo1 , bit.ly/UEVideo2 , bit.ly/UEVideo3 , bit.ly/UEVideo4
Live Stats: http://www.statbroadcast.com/events/statmonitr.php?gid=ilsu
Radio: https://wznd.com/
PROJECTED ILLINOIS STATE STARTING PITCHERS
LHP Colton Johnson (2-2, 50.2 IP, 55 K, 1.78 ERA)
RHP Jordan Lussier (4-2, 42.0 IP, 40 K, 4.29 ERA)
TBD
LHP Sean Sinisko (3-3, 37.2 IP, 31 K, 5.97 ERA)
LAST TIME OUT
Illinois State fell in three tight games at Milwaukee before winning the final game of the series, 10-2. Despite going 1-3 over the weekend, the Redbirds outscored the Panthers 14-6. ISU pitchers gave up just 7 earned runs in 31 IP while limiting MKE to a .204 batting average. The Redbird bullpen conceded just a pair of hits over 13 innings. They did not allow an earned run.
SERIES HISTORY
The Redbirds and Purple Aces have met 120 times in a series history with Illinois State leading, 66-53-1. The first game of the series was played in 1948. The teams most recently met on 5/18/2019, played at Illinois State's Duffy Bass Field. The Redbirds won, 11-4, and clinched the 2019 MVC title. ISU had six players with multiple hits and four players with multiple RBIs. The Redbirds scored six runs over the 7th and 8th innings to put the game out of reach.
SCOUTING THE PURPLE ACES
Evansville is 19-15 overall and 4-7 in the MVC. The Purple Aces won at No. 12 Georgia to open 2021 and put together an 8-game winning streak in the middle of the season. Kenton Crew leads the team in batting average (.360). The Evansville pitching staff, led by Shane Gray, has struck out 239 batters in 279.2 innings while walking 132.
18 IN A ROW
Illinois State pitchers sat down 18-straight Milwaukee Panthers hitters in Saturday's nightcap. Fourth-year junior Jack Anderson retired the final three batters he faced before fellow fourth-year junior Colin Wyman kept the next 15 batters off the bases. Milwaukee was held without a hit after the first inning in the 9-inning contest but still pulled out the 2-1 victory.
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.
