The Illinois State baseball team will travel to Richmond, Kentucky, for a three-game series against Eastern Kentucky starting Friday, March 6. The opening game is scheduled for 4 p.m. Central Time.
This weekend’s matchup is the first between the two teams since 2015. In their last meeting, Illinois State swept the series and won the final game 7-3. The Redbirds currently lead the all-time series 5-1.
Illinois State comes into the series after a mid-week loss to Southern Indiana. Senior Kannon Coakley recorded his first three-hit game as a Redbird, including a double and two singles against his former team. Coakley also matched his season-best with three RBIs in that contest.
Prior to facing Southern Indiana, redshirt sophomore Brayden Bakes was named Missouri Valley Conference Player of the Week. Over four games, Bakes went 7-for-15 at the plate with three home runs and had at least two hits in three of four games against Alabama A&M and Middle Tennessee State. Bakes is now the second Redbird this season to receive this award, joining junior Graham Mastros.
Eastern Kentucky enters the weekend after losing two games to No. 21-ranked Kentucky earlier in the week. The Colonels are led by first-year head coach Jan Weisberg, who has previous experience coaching at Division II and III levels. Offensively, redshirt freshman Dylan Littlefield leads Eastern Kentucky with a .367 batting average and five home runs.
Projected starters for Illinois State include junior Thomas Harper on Friday, who will make his fourth start of the season with a current record of 1-1 and more than ten strikeouts so far this year. On Saturday, junior Michael Addari is set for his first collegiate start after pitching five innings against Middle Tennessee State on February 28; he ranks second on the team with twelve strikeouts this season. Redshirt freshman Luke Teschke will start Sunday’s game after throwing 3.1 innings against Middle Tennessee State on March 1 for his longest outing yet.
Illinois State Redbirds compete in NCAA Division I events across various regions according to their official website. The program benefits from resources such as the OSF HealthCare Athletics Training Center for athlete preparation and receives support through initiatives like the Redbird Athletics Excellence Fund to enhance competitiveness and recruitment (source). The team is part of Illinois State University (source).
For updates on Illinois State Baseball, fans can visit GoRedbirds.com or follow team accounts on X (formerly Twitter), Instagram, and Facebook for news, schedules, rosters, and additional resources (source).
“GoRedbirds.com and the Illinois State Redbirds App:Â Your sources for Illinois State tickets, Weisbecker Scholarship Fund gifts, multimedia, Redbird merchandise, photos, and more.”
