McLean County Times

Illinois State University's baseball team is preparing for a series against the University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC) Flames in Chicago from May 10 to May 12. The games are scheduled for Friday at 6 p.m., Saturday at 2 p.m., and Sunday at 1 p.m., all available on ESPN+ with live stats.

The UIC Flames have a record of 31-14 this season, including a strong home performance of 17-4. Last year, they finished with a record of 28-25. Historically, Illinois State leads the series against UIC with a record of 29-15 since their first meeting in 1967. In their last encounter in May 2023, UIC won narrowly by a score of 3-2.

Recently, Illinois State's redshirt junior Judah Morris and junior Noah Rabin hit consecutive home runs during a decisive victory over Southern Illinois on May 3. This marked the first instance of back-to-back home runs for the team since May 2022.

Sophomore Daniel Pacella made headlines with two home runs and three RBIs in a game against Missouri State on March 31. He is the first Redbird to achieve this feat since teammate Auggie Rasmussen did so earlier this season. Pacella currently ranks second in the Missouri Valley Conference (MVC) with 46 RBIs.

Since 2004, there have been only two dozen instances where an Illinois State player has hit two home runs in one game out of over a thousand games played. Notably, Auggie Rasmussen achieved two home runs within the same inning earlier this year.

Weather conditions have impacted several games for Illinois State this season, leading to cancellations against teams like Saint Louis and Iowa. The team's schedule now consists of 53 games, leaving room to add three more to reach the maximum allowed number.

For updates on Illinois State Baseball, fans can visit GoRedbirds.com or follow them on social media platforms such as Twitter and Instagram under @RedbirdBaseball.