NORMAL, Ill. and WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – Illinois State baseball is set for a four-game series against the nation's last remaining undefeated team, 19th-ranked and 15-0 Purdue. The Thursday and Friday contests are scheduled to be played at Illinois State while the Saturday and Sunday contests are scheduled to be played at Purdue. The games at ISU will be streamed on ESPN+ while the games at Purdue will be on B1G+.
GAME INFORMATION
Illinois State (6-6, 0-0 MVC; 78th in RPI) vs/at No. 19 Purdue (15-0, 0-0 B1G; 106th in RPI)
Day/Time (CT):
Thursday, March 17, 5:00 p.m.
Friday, March 18, 2:00 p.m.
Saturday, March 19, 12:00 p.m.
Sunday, March 20, 12:00 p.m.
City: Normal, Ill. and West Lafayette, Ind.
Field: Duffy Bass Field and Alexander Field
ESPN+: https://www.espn.com/watch/player/_/id/cd170905-dc67-46e9-8f05-bcb1c59fe47d (game one); https://www.espn.com/watch/player/_/id/54948f8d-3572-47d8-97eb-45e0b2c0951c (game two)
B1G+: https://www.bigtenplus.com/en-int/playerpage/1293276 (game three); https://www.bigtenplus.com/en-int/playerpage/1293420 (game four)
Live Stats: bit.ly/RedbirdStats (games one and two); http://stats.statbroadcast.com/broadcast/?id=396379 (game three), http://stats.statbroadcast.com/broadcast/?id=396380 (game four)
PROJECTED ILLINOIS STATE STARTING PITCHERS
RHP Derek Salata (1-2, 4.57 ERA, 21.2 IP, 27 H, 25 K, 5 BB)
RHP Justin Foy (0-0, 0.00 ERA, 1.2 IP, H, BB)
TBA
LHP Sean Sinisko (1-1, 4.30 ERA, 14.2 IP, 14 H, 12 K, 5 BB)
SERIES HISTORY + SCOUTING THE BOILERMAKERS
Purdue went 16-26 in 2021, going 4-9 at home and 8-9 on the road. Purdue is off to a program-record 15-0 start and is the only unbeaten team remaining in Division I. Common opponents for Purdue and Illinois State in 2022 are UIC, Indiana State, Illinois, Indiana, Evansville, Valparaiso, and Iowa.
Illinois State won the teams' most recent match-up, a 10-2 result in April 2016 in Normal. Purdue holds an 18-15 edge in the all-time series.
IN THE OTHER DUGOUT
Redbird head coach Steve Holm and assistant head coach Wally Crancer were both assistants at Purdue prior to coming to ISU in 2019. Holm was there from 2017-2018 while Crancer was there from 2014-2018.
Former Redbird assistant coach Ross Learnard is now works on the staff at Purdue, doing Pitching Analytics and Team Operations. Learnard was a two-time All-American while at Purdue with Holm as the Boilermakers' pitching coach. Learnard was at ISU from 2019-2020 before a one-year stint at Parkland College.
KRAUSE RETURNS FROM CANCER
Third-year freshman Trey Krause completed his 25-month journey to return to the baseball field after being diagnosed with Ewing's Sarcoma in February 2020 as he made his first collegiate appearance against UT-Martin on March 8. Krause pitched one inning, striking out the first batter he faced.
16-INNING MARATHON
Illinois State and Murray State played a 16-inning game on 3/10 (with MSU winning, 7-6).16 innings is the longest game played in Division I in 2022 and ISU's longest game since 2016 (18 innings vs Milwaukee). The head coaches from each team agreed to just play one game on 3/11 instead of the scheduled doubleheader due to the 4 hour and 40 minute contest.
POTENTIALLY AN MVC RECORD
Illinois State pitchers struck out an astounding 23 batters against Murray State on 3/10. The highest known mark for a single game in the MVC (outside of ISU's 23) is 21. The mark is confirmed to be more than all of the current MVC members except Valpo and SIU. Recent MVC members Wichita State and Creighton also have not met the 23-strikeout plateau.
TOP-2 TAKEDOWN
Illinois State took down second-ranked Arkansas to open the 2022 campaign by a 3-2 score. Arkansas had not previously lost a home or season opener since 1994. The 11 runs the Razorbacks scored were tied for the fewest plated by an SEC team and tied for the third-fewest scored by a top-25 (D1Baseball top-25).
The 'Birds were competitive all series, outhitting the Razorbacks in game two and trailing by a run in the 8th inning of game three.
Illinois State is no stranger to the national stage, upending #1 Vanderbilt and #7 Louisville in 2019 as the team made the program's first NCAA Regional final. Likewise, ISU is no stranger to success in Fayetteville as the 2020 team knocked off the 13th-ranked Razorbacks, 8-7.
TOUGH TESTS IN 2022
Illinois State is scheduled to play six games against preseason ranked opponents (three at No. 2 Arkansas, three vs No. 22 Dallas Baptist). Purdue has also exceeded expectations in 2022, earning a No. 19 ranking from Collegiate Baseball Newspaper. Illinois State is also scheduled to play a program-record 16 games against Power Five schools, including 10 contests against the Big Ten. 2022 marks the first time ISU has opened against a Power Five since 2004 (win at Louisville). 2022 marks the first time ISU has ever opened against a ranked opponent.
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.
