JACKSONVILLE, Fla. - The Illinois State Redbirds will travel to Jacksonville University this weekend for a three-game set beginning with a 5 p.m. matchup Friday at John Sessions Stadium in Jacksonville, Florida.
WEEKEND SCHEDULE
Friday at 5:00 p.m. CT | WATCH | STATS
Saturday at 1:00 p.m. CT | WATCH | STATS
Sunday at 12:00 p.m. CT | WATCH | STATS
PROJECTED REDBIRD ROTATION
- Game 1: Tanner Perry (7.20 ERA, 5.0 IP, 6 K)
- Game 2: Carter Monke (3.60 ERA, 5.0 IP, 3 K)
- Game 3: Ryan Weaver (2023: 11.57 ERA, 11.2 IP, 8 K)
SCOUTING THE DOLPHINS
- The Dolphins sit at 0-4 to begin the 2025 season, as JU hosted West Virginia on Opening Weekend prior to welcoming in-state foe, Florida, on Tuesday.
- Jacksonville is coming off a 27-31 season in 2024, including 17-13 at home.
- Chris Hayes enters his ninth season at JU, compiling a 221-198 record with the Dolphins heading into 2025.
- The Dolphins had two players named to the Preseason All-ASUN Team. Richard Long was named the ASUN Preseason Pitcher of the Year while teammate Chandler Howard was unanimously selected as designated hitter on the Preseason All-ASUN team.
- Jacksonville was selected fifth in the ASUN Preseason Coaches Poll.
SERIES HISTORY
ISU and JU will meet for the fourth time this this weekend. The Redbirds are 1-2 all-time versus the Dolphins.
The most recent series meeting came during the shortened 2020 season in Jacksonville as ISU would earn their first win over the Dolphins thanks to a solid pitching performance and 15 hits.
OPENING WEEKEND
The Redbirds opened the 2025 campaign with two games at Western Kentucky on Feb. 14, dropping a pair of heartbreakers.
The Redbirds dropped game one by a final of 9-7 before battling back-and-forth in game two before falling in extra innings by a 4-3 final after 11 innings.
REDBIRD DEBUTS
Multiple new faces helped contribute in Illinois State's opening weekend, as seven different Redbirds made their ISU debut against Western Kentucky.
Freshman Eric Machej knocked in two RBIs while starting both games at second base.
2025 SLATE
The 22 teams on the 2025 schedule for ISU averaged 27 wins last season and feature five NCAA regional qualifiers (Evansville, Illinois, Indiana State, Oral Roberts, and Oklahoma State).
Seven 2025 opponents finished last season in the top 100 in RPI (12. Indiana State; 16. Oklahoma State; 43. Illinois; 52. Evansville; 80. Murray State; 89. UIC; 100. Western Kentucky).
ILLINOIS STATE TO HOST MVC TOURNAMENT
The 2025 Missouri Valley Conference Championships will take place from Duffy Bass Field in Normal, Illinois.Â
The eight-team tournament opens on Tuesday, May 20, 2025, and is scheduled to run through Saturday, May 24, 2025.
This is the first time Illinois State will host the MVC Championships since 2019.Â
ON DECK FOR ISU
Following this weekend, Illinois State will travel to Saint Charles, Missouri, for a three-game series at Lindenwood from Feb. 28 – March 2.
For the latest updates on Illinois State Baseball, stay tuned at GoRedbirds.com, follow the Redbirds on X (@RedbirdBaseball) and Instagram (isuredbirdbaseball), and like the team on Facebook (Illinois State Baseball).
GoRedbirds.com and the Illinois State Redbirds App:Â Â Your sources for Illinois State tickets, Weisbecker Athletic Fund gifts, multimedia, Redbird merchandise, photos and more.
