NORMAL, Ill. – The Illinois State baseball program heads to Evansville for a three-game series with the Purple Aces, set to begin on Friday evening at German American Bank Field at Charles Braun Stadium. First pitch on Friday is set for 6 p.m., and all three contests will be available to stream on ESPN+.
The Redbirds will look to bounce back following a mid-week defeat to Iowa. The loss snapped a nine-game winning streak, the longest in the Steve Holm era and the longest since 2013. Following the defeat, the Redbirds return to conference play after Illinois State took down Belmont with a Valley opening series sweep, securing three victories over the Bruins at Duffy Bass Field.
Redshirt Sophomore Brayden Bakes shined in the series with a 6-for-13 performance with four home runs, 10 RBIs, and six runs scored. On March 20, Bakes tallied a career-best three home runs and five RBIs in the Redbirds 9-4 victory. For his display at the plate, Bakes received national honors as the Algonquin, Ill. native was named to the Baseball America Team of the Week and the NCBWA National Co-Hitter of the Week. On March 23, Bakes was also recognized as the MVC Player of the Week.
Evansville returns to action after falling in three games to Cal Baptist last weekend. The Purple Aces are led by 18th-year head coach Wes Caroll, who previously led the Aces to their first NCAA Regional Championship in 2024. Redshirt Sophomore Chalie Longmeier leads Evansville offensively with a .264 batting average with 23 hits in 2026.
PROJECTED STARTERS
Game One - Friday, March 27, 6 p.m.
Senior Thomas Harper is set to make his seventh start of 2026 on Friday. This season, Harper has amassed 20 strikeouts in 24.2 innings pitched.
Game Two - Saturday, March 28, 2 p.m.
Junior Michael Addari is set to start following an impressive start over Belmont that earned him an MVC Pitcher of the Week selection. Against the Bruins, Addari matched a career-high 5.0 innings pitched and tallied a career-best seven strikeouts in the Illinois State 10-4 victory.
Game Three - Sunday, March 29, 1 p.m. - TBD
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).
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