NORMAL, Ill. – The Illinois State baseball program is set to travel to Champaign, Ill., for the final mid-week contest in the season series with Illinois on Tuesday evening. First pitch is scheduled for 6:00 p.m. and will be available to watch on B1G+.
The Redbirds will look to claim the season sweep over the Fighting Illini after claiming a 4-1 victory in the first meeting of 2026 in Normal, Ill., earlier this season. In the win, Redshirt Sophomore Carson Cormier tossed five scoreless innings and allowed just two hits. Cormier added five strikeouts in his outing in March. Junior's Graham Mastros and Luke Stulga delivered a pair of RBIs in the victory, with Stulga's coming on a triple to give the Redbirds the lead late in the contest.
The win in late march marked the first time that the Redbirds claimed back-to-back victories over the Fighting Illini since victories in 2019 and 2022. With the triumph, Illinois State secured wins over Illinois in consecutive seasons since 2002-03.
Illinois remains at home for game nine of a 12-game home stand as it hosts the Redbirds on Tuesday. Since they met with Illinois State in late March, the Fighting Illini have claimed six victories, including a 16-13 walkoff victory over No. 19 Oregon on April 18. Freshman infielder AJ Putty leads the Fighting Illini offense with a .333 batting average and 39 RBIs in 38 contests played in 2026.
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