TULSA, Okla. - Illinois State baseball will travel to Tulsa, Oklahoma, for a midweek contest at Oral Roberts on Wednesday at Chapman Park. The nonconference game with the Golden Eagles is set for a 3 p.m. CT first pitch.
Illinois State (2-7) returns to action after picking up a pair of victories last week at Ball State and Lindenwood.
SCHEDULE
Wednesday at 3:00 p.m. CT |Â STATS
ABOUT THE GOLDEN EAGLES
Oral Roberts (6-4) enters Wednesday after dropping two out of three games at home versus nationally ranked Dallas Baptist last weekend. The Golden Eagles are currently 5-2 at home in 2025, as both losses came to DBU.
Head coach Ryan Folmar is in his 22nd season at ORU, including 13th as head coach of the Golden Eagles. Prior to taking the head coaching position, Folmar spent the previous nine seasons as an Assistant Coach for the program.
Oral Roberts was selected to finish first in the Summit League Preseason Baseball Coaches' poll. The Golden Eagles won their 22nd Summit League postseason title in 2024 and will look to capture the program's 21st regular season title in 2025.
RETURN TO TULSA
For only the second time in program history, Illinois State is scheduled to face Oral Roberts. The only other meeting on the diamond between Illinois State and Oral Roberts came from Normal in 2002.
This year's meeting with ORU holds a little deeper connection to ISU head coach Steve Holm, who played at ORU from 2000-01. Holm finished his career as a Collegiate Baseball and Baseball America Second Team All-American in 2000, being named the Mid-Continent Conference Player of the Year and Newcomer of the Year that season.
He was a first team All-Conference selection both seasons at ORU and was named to the All-Tournament team both years as well. He continues to lead the ORU record books with his .437 batting average in 2000, a mark that is third in the Summit League record books.
The Sacramento native also set top-10 marks for ORU in hits (104), doubles (23), RBIs (78), total bases (179), and assists (192) during the 2000 season.
He is a member of the ORU Hall of Fame Class of 2014.
BATTLE OF THE BIRDS
Illinois State secured their first win of the 2025 season on February 25 with an 11-1 midweek victory over Ball State.
Senior Kyle Gibson led the Redbird offense, who totaled 13 hits, with a 4-for-5 day at the plate with two RBIs and two stolen bases. Gibson is the first Redbird with four hits in a game since Daniel Pacella last May.
Pacella, meanwhile, became the first Redbird with three doubles in a game since Joe Aeilts in April 2019.
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 Wednesday, Illinois State remains in Oklahoma for a three-game set at #25 Oklahoma State in Stillwater from Friday-Sunday.
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.
