SPRINGFIELD, Mo. – The Illinois State baseball team is off to Missouri State in its second-to-last series of the 2022 regular season. All three games will be on ESPN3.
GAME INFORMATION
Illinois State (18-25, 5-10 MVC; 171st in RPI) at Missouri State (22-23, 5-10 MVC; 93rd in RPI)
Day/Time (CT):
Friday, May 13; 11:00 a.m. CT
Saturday, May 14; 11:00 a.m. CT
Sunday, May 15; 11:00 a.m. CT
City: Springfield, Mo.
ESPN3: https://www.espn.com/watch/player/_/id/f8aa2afc-470e-4862-9789-209bdbcc1628 (game one); https://www.espn.com/watch/player/_/id/d358e1f8-d407-474a-a2e8-0ff5b9a91e60 (game two); https://www.espn.com/watch/player/_/id/d358e1f8-d407-474a-a2e8-0ff5b9a91e60 (game three)
Live Stats: bit.ly/RedbirdStats
PROJECTED ILLINOIS STATE STARTING PITCHERS
LHP Jared Hart (1.52 ERA, 47.1 IP, 43 K, 13 BB)
LHP Sean Sinisko (5.48 ERA, 42.2 IP, 24 K, 14 BB)
TBA
ABOUT THE BEARS + SERIES HISTORY + LAST MEETING
Missouri State went 21-23 overall during the 2021 campaign, going 11-7 at home. The Bears are 22-23 so far this season, including a 10-11 home record. MSU has lost four in a row after beating #4 Arkansas. Missouri State and Illinois State have common opponents outside MVC: Kansas, Indiana, Saint Louis, and Arkansas. MSU has three players with 10+ home runs and five players with 5+ homers.
The Redbirds and Bears have met 111 times previously, with MSU up 66-45. • Their first meeting was in 1969. ISU is seeking its first road series win at MSU since 2014. ISU swept the Bears in Springfield in 2010. Missouri State took the most recent meeting between the two teams back on 5/16/2021. Illinois State won the other three meetings in the series.
OH SO CLOSE AT UE
Illinois State dropped a trio of games to MVC-leading Evansville over the weekend. Despite going 0-3, the games were decided by a combined four runs. The 'Birds dropped to 2-16 on the season when scoring three runs or less. Illinois State has yet to be shutout in 2022.
THANK U, NEXT
Illinois State and Saint Thomas were cancelled Wednesday due to health and safety protocols in the UST program. ISU has now had six games cancelled.
HART AND HIS STARTS
Fifth-year Jared Hart, who recorded a combined 8 starts at Temple College and Wabash Valley College (both JUCO), prior to coming to ISU, made his first Redbird start at DBU back on 5/7/2021
• 2021 starts (1): 40.50 ERA, 2.2 IP, 11 H, 12 ER, 4 K, 3 BB
• 2022 starts (4): 1.44 ERA, 25 IP, 15 H, 4 ER, 16 K, 8 BB
• ISU stretched out the bullpen ace on 4/15, making his first start of 2022 (against Valparaiso).
4-3 IS THE MAGIC NUMBER
Illinois State is now 3-2 in extra-inning games in 2022 after beating DBU on 4/29 on ESPNU. All three wins have come by a 4-3 final while both losses have been 7-6.
CER-SMACK: NATIONAL POW x4 (QUICK HITS ON RYAN CERMAK'S WEEK - 4/11)
- Named National Player of the Week from Collegiate Baseball Newspaper, Perfect Game, D1Baseball, and NCBWA
- 11-for-21 (.524)
- .600 OBP
- five home runs, two doubles
- home runs in four-straight plate appearances (hit 470-foot home run for fourth-straight home run)
- three home run game on 4/6 with grand slams in back-to-back innings
- 14 RBIs; broke a 37-year old school RBI record on 4/6 (10 now - was nine by Mike Prior in 1985)
- nine runs scored; tied the school record for runs scored in a game on 4/6 (five - most recent was Brett Kay in 2012)
- recorded 100th career hit via home run on 4/10
- scaled the center-field wall and appeared to have taken away a home run on 4/10
- celebrated the honors by lining a HR over the LF wall to lead off 4/12's game at Illinois
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 and was bumped up to 17th after taking two-of-three from ISU. 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.
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