NORMAL, Ill. – The Illinois State baseball program heads to Chicago, Ill., for its final Missouri Valley Conference series with UIC at Les Miller Field at Curtis Granderson Stadium.
The three-game set will begin on Friday with the first pitch slated for 6:02 p.m. and will be nationally televised on ESPNU. In the Redbirds' last appearance on national television, Illinois State secured a 14-4 victory in eight innings over Evansville on April 13, 2025. Action will resume on Saturday at 1:05 p.m. on Marquee/ESPN+ and Sunday at 4:05 p.m. on ESPN+.
The Redbirds enter the weekend following a midweek defeat to Northwestern on Tuesday afternoon in Evanston, Ill., that snapped an eight-game win streak, the second-longest of the campaign. Despite the midweek loss, Illinois State has captured back-to-back sweeps in MVC play over Bradley and Valparaiso.
Redshirt Sophomore Brayden Bakes and Junior Michael Carrano Jr. earned MVC weekly honors for their contributions in the Redbirds' sweep over Valparaiso.
Bakes received his league-best fourth MVC Player of the Week selection with a combined 6-for-11 performance with six runs scored, two RBIs, and a pair of extra-base hits, including a home run.
Carrano Jr. received his first career weekly award selection after earning MVC Newcomer of the Week honors for his performance in the series with the Beacons. The Burbank, Ill. native recorded a career-best effort with four hits and four RBIs in the Redbirds 14-2 victory on Saturday. On Sunday, Carrano Jr. followed his Saturday performance with three hits and a pair of RBIs.
The Flames enter the weekend after dropping their midweek contest on Wednesday afternoon to Milwaukee, 12-6. Despite Wednesday's defeat, UIC claimed a series victory over Evansville with a pair of victories over the Purple Aces last weekend. Sean McDermott leads the Flames in his fifth season at the helm of the program and has been a member of the coaching staff for 27 seasons. Junior first baseman Ashton Kampa headlines the Flames' offense with a .348 batting average and a .710 slugging percentage.
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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