NORMAL, Ill. – The Illinois State baseball program is set to take on Western Illinois in a four-game series that will begin on Thursday, March 12.
Due to a schedule change, the Redbirds' home opener against the Leathernecks has been moved to Thursday, in the opening contest of the four-game set. First pitch from Duffy Bass Field is set for 2:05 pm., and will be available to watch on ESPN+.
Following Thursday's game, Illinois State will travel to Macomb, Ill., for a doubleheader Friday, with game one scheduled to begin at 11:30 a.m. from Alfred D. Boyer Stadium. Game two will start approximately 30 minutes after the conclusion of game one.
On Saturday, the final contest of the series will occur at Duffy Bass Field, maintaining the previously scheduled time of 3:00 PM.
The Redbirds head home following an 8-5 victory over Saint Louis on Tuesday afternoon at Billikens Sports Complex. In the win, Graduate Camden Karczewski tallied his first home run at Illinois State with a leadoff solo shot on the second pitch of the contest to give the Redbirds an early advantage. Junior Luke Stulga added a trio of hits for his seventh multi-hit performance of the season.
Junior Michael Carrano and Junior Ryan Bakes homered back-to-back in the Redbirds' four-run fourth inning. Carrano became the first Redbird since Ryan Cermak on April 10, 2022, to tally an inside-the-park home run. The Burbank, Ill., has homered in back-to-back contests.
Before the mid-week victory, Junior Graham Mastros was named the Missouri Valley Conference's Player of the Week. Mastros' nomination marks his second of the season, and Illinois State has a player selected for the award in three out of four weeks. Mastros earned the award following a 9-for-15 performance with three extra-base hits and four runs scored in the Redbirds' four contests last week.
Western Illinois heads into the in-state matchup after falling to Illinois on Tuesday. The Leathernecks are led by head coach Terry Davis, who enters his third season in Macomb, Ill. Senior Wandel Campana leads Western Illinois offensively with a .407 batting average and 22 hits through 16 games to open 2026.
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