McLean County Times

Illinois State University's baseball team is preparing for two upcoming matchups. The team will first travel to Iowa on Tuesday, followed by a home game against Western Illinois on Wednesday. Both games are scheduled to be broadcasted, with the Iowa game airing on B1G+ and the Western Illinois game on ESPN+.

The Redbirds have announced that right-handed pitcher Carter Monke will start in the game against Iowa. Monke has an ERA of 7.39 over 28 innings pitched this season, with 19 strikeouts across ten appearances, including four starts. The starting pitcher for Wednesday's game against Western Illinois has yet to be determined.

Iowa comes into Tuesday's matchup with a record of 24-17 for the season and a strong home performance at 16-3. Historically, Iowa leads the series against Illinois State with 14 wins out of their 23 encounters since their first meeting in 1975.

Western Illinois holds a record of 10-29 this season and recently secured a series win over Lindenwood. The Leathernecks trail behind Illinois State in their historical meetings, having won only 76 out of their 169 games since they first played each other in 1925.

In addition to these matchups, Illinois State will host "Bark in the Park" on Saturday during their game against Southern Illinois at Duffy Bass Field.

Illinois State's defense ranks among the top five in the Missouri Valley Conference (MVC) for fielding percentage and double plays while maintaining low error rates. Offensively, they also rank highly in several categories including batting average and doubles.

Sophomore Daniel Pacella recently made headlines with his walk-off home run against Indiana State on April 19, marking the team's first such victory since May 2010. Pacella also delivered an impressive performance earlier this season with two home runs in a single game against Missouri State.

For more updates on Illinois State Baseball, fans can visit GoRedbirds.com or follow them on social media platforms like Twitter and Instagram.