LINCOLN, Neb. - The Illinois State baseball team is set to travel to Nebraska, which has won seven of its last eight games, for a weekend series from March 10-12.
SCHEDULE (AT NEBRASKA)
Friday at 4:05 p.m. CT | B1G+ | RADIO | LIVE STATS
Saturday at 4:05 p.m. CT (pushed back from 2:05 p.m. CT start) | B1G+ | RADIO | LIVE STATS
Sunday at 1:05 p.m. CT | B1G+ | RADIO | LIVE STATS
ILLINOIS STATE PROJECTED STARTING PITCHERS
Friday: RHP Derek Salata (1.72 ERA, 15.2 IP, 22 K over three starts)
Saturday: RHP Tyrelle Chadwick (8.49 ERA, 11.2 IP, 14 K over three starts)
Sunday: RHP Thomas Harper (3.60 ERA, 5 IP, 6 K over three appearances, two starts)
ABOUT THE NEBRASKA CORNHUSKERS
Nebraska was 23-30 in 2022, going 13-13 at home. The Huskers are 7-4-1 to start 2023, despite a 0-3-1 start. UNL beat No. 7 Vanderbilt in Minneapolis and is coming off a midweek sweep of Northern Colorado. Nebraska is also scheduled to face common opponents with ISU: Illinois, Iowa, Minnesota. Nebraska is hitting a robust .333 with 24 home runs while fielding at .987 clip.
The Redbirds and Huskers have met 4 times previously, with UNL leading, 4-0. Their first meeting was in 1994. ISU dropped the most recent 3/8/2007 matchup in Arlington.
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 CENTRAL ARKANSAS
Illinois State dropped its first series of 2023 as it fell in the series finale at UCA by a 22-10 scoreline, despite leading 6-0 after one inning. Fourth-year junior Greg Nichols hit a 10th-inning HR in the game two win while freshman Daniel Pacella hit 2 HR (including a GS) on Sunday.
FIVE WITH TWO+ STEALS IN A GAME
Illinois State, which stole 37 bases in 2022 (.725 per game), already has 20 steals through 11 games (1.82 per game) in 2023. Fourth-year junior Shay Kubo, third-year junior Auggie Rasmussen, 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.
HIGH K/9 EARLY
Illinois State has 112 strikeouts in 98.1 IP in 2023 (10.2 K/9), ranking 57th in the nation. Fifth-year senior Derek Salata has 22 strikeouts in 15.2 IP (12.6 K/9; T-95th in the nation) while third-year junior Elijah Dale has 18 strikeouts in 11.1 innings (14.3 K/9; T-33rd in the nation).
RETURNER HOME RUNS
Illinois State had just three home runs return from its 2022 roster, tied for the fewest in the nation with Kansas.
Fourth-year junior Greg Nichols second-year sophomore JT Sokolove, and fourth-year junior Adrian Flores all homered against Austin Peay, meaning Redbird returners hit three home runs in the opening series. Since, the Redbirds have 14 more home runs (11 by newcomers and three more by Nichols).
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 Athletic Fund gifts, multimedia, Redbird merchandise, photos and more.
