NORMAL, Ill. - The Illinois State baseball team has added a 3:00 p.m. CT home game on Wednesday against Western Illinois at Duffy Bass Field.
Illinois State was scheduled to open its home slate against Eastern Illinois from March 17-19, but the home opener will come two days earlier as the Redbirds will battle the Leathernecks to open a six-game homestand before closing its homestand with a midweek series against Minnesota on March 21 and 22.
The Redbirds had its Sunday game at Nebraska cancelled due to weather and sit at 55 scheduled games with room to add one more game to reach 56 in 2023.
SCHEDULE (AT ILLINOIS STATE)
Wednesday at 3:00 p.m. CT | LIVE STATS (no broadcasts)
ILLINOIS STATE PROJECTED STARTING PITCHER
TO BE ANNOUNCED
ABOUT THE WESTERN ILLINOIS LEATHERNECKS
Western Illinois was 8-44 in 2022, going 6-31 on the road. The Leathernecks are 3-12 to start 2023, coming off a series victory at the MVC's Belmont. WIU is also scheduled to face common opponents with ISU: SIUE, Belmont, Southern Illinois, UIC, Eastern Illinois
The Redbirds and Leathernecks have met 167 times previously, with ISU leading, 90-76-1. Their first meeting was in 1925. The teams also met in ISU's 3/9/2021 home opener, a 2-1 walk-off win behind a Jack Butler single. ISU won the most recent 4/6/2022 match-up, 15-7. Tampa Bay Rays draftee Ryan Cermak blasted home runs in final three plate appearances (all off the same pitcher), which included grand slams in back-to-back innings. Cermak set an ISU record with 10 RBIs while tying the school record with five runs scored. Cermak became the first Redbird since St. Louis Cardinal Paul DeJong to hit three home runs in a game. Cermak led off the next game at Kansas with a home run to mark his fourth-straight plate appearance with a home run in a five-homer week en route to earning National Player of the Week honors from four outlets, despite not being named MVC Player of the Week.
HOME OPENERS
The Redbirds have won three-straight home openers (won 4-3 in 11 innings to walk-off #19 Purdue and end their run as the nation's last remaining unbeaten team. The 'Birds are 14-8 in home openers since 2000.
NATIONAL PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Highly-touted freshman Daniel Pacella has lived up to his power potential in the early going in 2023, blasting six homers - the 2nd most by a freshman in the country. Pacella's four-HR week yielded National Player of the Week honors from Collegiate Baseball Newspaper, becoming the second Redbird in program history to receive a National Player of the Week honor (Ryan Cermak earned NPOTW honors from four outlets in 2022 after hitting a HR in 4-straight AB, highlighted by a 3-HR, 10-RBI game at Western Illinois in which he hit grand slams in back-to-back innings).
Pacella is the first Redbird freshman to.... hit a grand slam since 2011; hit 2 HR in a game since 2019; record 5 RBI in a game since 2016 (current MKE Brewer Owen Miller). Pacella is off to a strong start at the plate, hitting .304 (14-46) over 10 starts and 11 games played in 2023.
SERIES LOSS AT NEBRASKA
Illinois State came within 3-2 in the 7th inning on a home run by second-year sophomore Nick Strong but ultimately came away with an 8-3 loss upon the removal of fifth-year senior Derek Salata, who recorded 10 strikeouts over six IP.
FIVE WITH TWO+ STEALS IN A GAME
Illinois State, which stole 37 bases in 2022 (.725 per game), already has 23 steals through 13 games (1.77 per game) in 2023. Fourth-year junior Shay Kubo, third-year junior Auggie Rasmussen (x2), and second-year sophomores Blake Stenger, Noah Rabin , and JT Sokolove each have a game with multiple steals.
FLORES JUST KEEPS HITTING
Fourth-year junior Adrian Flores, traditionally a catcher, made his first career start on 2/19 at APSU. Flores, who saw limited time at DH and catcher in 2022, has been ISU's best hitter since breaking into the lineup, going 14-for-28 (.500) with a home run, nine RBI, and four runs scored.
SALATA AND 10+K STRIKEOUTS
• Fifth-year senior Derek Salata has two 10+ K games (2/24 at Arkansas State -12; 3/10 at Nebraska -10). Salata is the 10th Redbird since 2000 to have multiple 10+K games. Eight of the nine were drafted.
-Derek Salata (x2) - 2023; TBD
-Colton Johnson (x2) - 2021;
17th Round to Oakland Athletics
-Brent Headrick (x4) - 2019;
9th Round to Minnesota Twins
-Jacob Hendren (x2) - 2015; undrafted
-Dylan Craig (x3) - 2014;
12th Round to Colorado Rockies
-Dan Savas (x2) - 2014 and 2011;
19th Round to Arizona Diamondbacks
-Jeremy Rhoades (x3) - 2014;
4th Round to Los Angeles Angels
-Corey Maines (x5) - 2011, 2010, 2009;
23rd Round to New York Yankees
-Neal Cotts (x8) - 2001 and 2000;
2nd Round to Oakland Athletics
-Brian Forystek (x3) - 2000;
4th Round to Baltimore Orioles
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