McLean County Times

Illinois State University baseball is set to wrap up its 2024 home games with a pivotal series against Belmont, as both teams are competing for better positions in the upcoming Missouri Valley Conference (MVC) tournament. The series will also mark Senior Day for Illinois State, with a ceremony planned postgame on Saturday to honor the athletes.

The games are scheduled at Duffy Bass Field, starting Thursday at 5:00 p.m., followed by Friday at 3:00 p.m., and concluding Saturday at noon. All matches will be available on ESPN+, radio, and live stats.

Illinois State's projected starting pitchers include Cameron Mabee on Thursday, Tanner Perry on Friday, and Carter Monke on Saturday. Mabee has a 5.12 ERA over 70.1 innings pitched with 56 strikeouts in 13 starts this season. Perry holds a 5.63 ERA over 62.1 innings pitched with an equal number of strikeouts in his 12 starts, while Monke carries a 6.75 ERA over 42.2 innings with 33 strikeouts across seven starts.

Belmont enters the series following a midweek loss to top-ranked Tennessee but secured a series victory against Missouri State last weekend. The Bruins stand seventh in the MVC standings and could finish anywhere from fourth to eighth depending on results from this weekend's games.

Illinois State recently saw sophomore Daniel Pacella and junior Noah Rabin achieve back-to-back home runs during their recent game against Eastern Illinois, despite losing that match-up.

Pacella had an impressive performance in the Redbirds' finale at UIC earlier this month, going four-for-five at bat with six RBIs and his ninth home run of the season—a feat not achieved since Luke Lawrence did so last year against Valparaiso.

Throughout the season, Illinois State has engaged in several matchups with other "directional" schools within Illinois—Northern Illinois, Western Illinois, Southern Illinois, and Eastern Illinois—holding an overall record of 359-321-4 prior to this year’s contests.

Since 2004, there have been numerous instances where Redbird players hit two home runs in one game; senior Auggie Rasmussen is noted for hitting two homers in one inning during their March matchup against Indiana.

Fans can stay updated through GoRedbirds.com or follow various social media platforms dedicated to Redbird Baseball for more information about tickets and other related content.