NORMAL, Ill. – The Illinois State baseball program is set for a Tuesday afternoon matchup with SIUE at Roy E. Lee Field at Simmons Baseball Complex. The contest is set to begin with the first pitch at approximately 3:00 p.m. and will be available to watch on ESPN+.
The Redbirds travel to Edwardsville following an opening series victory over SEMO on Feb. 13-15. Illinois State leads the all-time series over SIUE with a 23-11-1 overall record. Last season, the two squads split the season matchup at 1-1, with the Redbirds prevailing 9-3 in the most recent contest.
The Birds claimed two of the three contests in the series with 12-1 and 7-6 victories on the doubleheader on Friday. Illinois State improves to 6-2 in season-opening contests under eighth-year head coach Steve Holm. The Redbirds' margin of victory marks the most in the first game of the season since a 13-2 win over Austin Peay
Junior Graham Mastros headlined in his 2026 debut, with a 3-for-4 performance in Illinois State's 12-1 season-opening victory. All three hits from Mastros were home runs as Mastros recorded his first three-home run performance of his career. Mastros added two doubles in the remaining contests of the series and totaled a Missouri Valley Conference-best seven RBIs across the weekend.
Junior Luke Stulga added six hits in the series, including two triples in the Redbirds' 7-6 win in the second contest of Friday's doubleheader. Stulga became the first Illinois State player since Chad Hinshaw in 2012 to record two triples in a single contest. Stulga notched a pair of singles to add to his line to record his first four-hit performance of his career.
Junior transfer Ryan Bakes recorded two home runs in the series, including a solo shot in his first at-bat as a Redbird. Bakes joins Mastros as one of three players in the Missouri Valley Conference with two or more home runs on opening weekend.
Sophomore Eric Machej impressed in the series as the Edmonton, Alberta native recorded his first three-hit performance of his career, going 3-for-4 with his first career home run in game two on Friday. Machej additionally recorded a base hit in each of the Redbirds' other contests.
The Cougars enter Tuesday's match-up following a 1-2 series loss at North Alabama to begin the season. SIUE entered this season as the preseason favorites after being selected to finish first in the Ohio Valley Conference preseason poll. In 2025, the Cougars captured the second-most conference wins total in program history with 18.
For the latest updates on Illinois State Baseball, stay tuned at GoRedbirds.com, follow the Redbirds on X (formerly 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 Scholarship Fund gifts, multimedia, Redbird merchandise, photos, and more.
