NORMAL, Ill. – The Illinois State baseball program heads to Iowa City, Iowa, to take on the Hawkeyes in a mid-week contest Tuesday evening. Action from Duane Banks Field is set to begin at 6:00 p.m. and will be available to watch on B1G+.
The Redbirds make the trip to the Hawkeye State following a series sweep over Bradley and have captured four straight victories entering Tuesday. Illinois State will look to even the season series after Iowa secured an 11-0 win in Normal earlier this season on March 24. Despite the defeat, the Redbirds maintain a 16-11 record in the all-time series between the two programs.
For their performances across the Redbirds four-game win streak, Redshirt Sophomore Brayden Bakes and his brother, Junior Ryan Bakes, received recognition with the Missouri Valley Conference's weekly honors.
Brayden earned MVC Player of the Week honors following a combined 10-for-18 performance with eight extra-base hits and 10 RBIs across the four-game stretch. On Tuesday against Illinois, Bakes matched a career-best with four hits, including a new career-high mark with three doubles in the victory. Days later, in the series opener against Bradley, Bakes notched a run-rule walk-off grand slam in the eighth inning.
Ryan secured MVC Newcomer of the Week honors after tallying six extra-base hits in Illinois State's four contests. On Friday, Bakes matched a career-high hit total with three hits, including his first career grand slam, and recorded a career-best five RBIs in the win.
The Hawkeyes enter the mid-week rematch on a five-game win streak, capped off by a series sweep of Indiana in Bloomington, Ind., over the weekend. Senior infielder Gable Mitchell headlines the Iowa offense with a batting average of .395 and 68 hits in 42 games played in 2026.
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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