NORMAL, Ill. - The Illinois State baseball team is scheduled to host Southern Illinois in a weekend series at Duffy Bass Field over May 3-5.
SCHEDULE (AT ILLINOIS STATE)
Friday at 5:00 p.m. CT | ESPN+ | LIVE STATS
Saturday at 3:00 p.m. CT | RADIO | LIVE STATS
Sunday at 1:00 p.m. CT | RADIO | LIVE STATS
ABOUT THE SOUTHERN ILLINOIS SALUKIS
Southern Illinois was 30-27 (15-12 MVC) in 2023, going 9-14 on the road. The Salukis are 26-19 in 2024, sitting at 9-9 in MVC play and 10-10 on the road.
The Redbirds and Salukis have met 197 times previously, with Illinois State leading 100-96-1, dating back to 1948.
In the last series meeting in April 2023, Illinois State edged Southern Illinois, 10-7, in 12 innings thanks to home runs from Luke Cheng, Noah Rabin, and Daniel Pacella.
BARK IN THE PARK
Illinois State is set to host "Bark in the Park" on Saturday at Duffy Bass Field when Southern Illinois comes to Normal.
All dogs can be registered online here.
'BIRDS IN MVC
Through 43 games, the Redbird defense sits top-five in the MVC for fielding percentage (.975) and double plays (36) while holding the third-fewest errors (38).
On offense, Illinois State is top-five in batting average (.287), hits (429), doubles (86), triples (9), hit by pitch (65), and sacrifice flies (20).
WALK IT OFF
Illinois State sophomore Daniel Pacella capped off a sensational performance versus Indiana State on April 19 with a walk-off home run to secure the 4-3 win for the 'Birds.
Pacella's home run is the first walk-off home run for the Redbirds since May 2010 (Ryan Court vs Wichita State).
The win also gave ISU their first series win over the Sycamores since April 2022 and handed the Sycamores their first MVC loss since April 5.
DANNY DINGERS (x2)
Sophomore Daniel Pacella tallied a two-homer, three RBI performance in the series finale at Missouri State on March 31.
With the pair of blasts, Pacella became the first Redbird to hit two home runs in a game since teammate Auggie Rasmussen at Indiana on March 13.
Pacella finished the weekend with eight RBIs against the Bears, as he sits with 49 RBIs this season.
'BIRDS WITH TWO-HOMER GAMES
Since 2004, there have been 24 instances where a Redbird has hit for two home runs in a game.
Of the previous 24 instances, only one Redbird has hit two home runs in the same inning: senior Auggie Rasmussen at Indiana on March 13.
Rasmussen joins Daniel Pacella, Ryan Cermak, Zach Amrein, and Ryan Court as the only Redbirds to have a two home-run game on multiple occasions.
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).
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