NORMAL, Ill. – The Illinois State baseball program is set to take on SIUE in a mid-week contest on Wednesday at Duffy Bass Field. First pitch is scheduled for 3:05 p.m.
The Redbirds will look to capture the season series after securing a 9-5 victory over the Cougars on February 17. Illinois State capitalized on a six-run ninth inning to move past SIUE in Edwardsville earlier this season. With the win, the Redbirds extended their advantage over the Cougars to 24-11-1 in the all-time series.
Illinois State enters Wednesday's matchup following a five-game winning streak after earning a victory over Saint Louis and a four-game sweep against Western Illinois. On March 12, the Redbirds secured an extra-inning walk-off win in their home opener against the Leathernecks as Senior Nolan Barry delivered an RBI single to earn a 7-6 victory. Just a few days later, on March 14, Illinois State captured its second walk-off win of the weekend after a bases-loaded hit-by-pitch from Redshirt Sophomore Brayden Bakes captured a 7-6 win in 15 innings over Western Illinois to secure the sweep.
Junior Luke Stulga earned Missouri Valley Conference Player of the Week honors for his performance in the five-game set. Stulga tallied a combined 13-for-25 line with eight RBIs across the stretch and added a hit in each contest to move his hitting streak to five games. Stulga ranks fifth in the MVC with a batting average of .370 and fourth in RBIs with 20 this season.
Graduate Reece Clapp was awarded the MVC Pitcher of the Week award following a dominant display on the mound for the Redbirds. In three appearances out of the bullpen, Clapp recorded 14 strikeouts in 11.0 shutout innings pitched and limited opponents to six hits. In Saturday's 15-inning victory, Clapp entered in relief and tossed a career-best 7.0 innings pitched, surpassing his longest career outing. Clapp added a career-best eight strikeouts to help secure the win.
SIUE travels to Normal following a series victory over Valparaiso in Edwardsville, Ill. The Cougars are led by 10th year head coach Sean Lyons. Junior Ryan Niedzwiedz leads SIUE offensively with a .338 average and 10 home runs this season.
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