McLean County Times

After securing a midweek victory over Ball State, the Illinois State baseball team (1-5) is preparing for its third weekend series of the season. The team will travel to St. Charles, Missouri, to face Lindenwood (4-5) in a three-game series at the Lou Brock Sports Complex from February 28 to March 2.

The scheduled games are set for Friday at 3:00 p.m. CT, Saturday at 1:00 p.m. CT, and Sunday at 1:00 p.m. CT.

In their recent outing, Illinois State senior Kyle Gibson led the Redbird offense with four hits in five at-bats during an 11-1 eight-inning win over Ball State on Tuesday. Gibson also recorded two RBIs and two stolen bases.

Historically, Illinois State leads the series against Lindenwood with a record of 2-0. In their last meeting, Illinois State achieved an 8-6 victory over Lindenwood in St. Charles, supported by home runs from Judah Morris and Daniel Pacella.

Lindenwood enters this weekend's series with a record of 4-5 after suffering a recent loss to Missouri by a score of 14-10. Head coach PJ Finigan is in his third season with the Lions and second as head coach. Last year, Lindenwood finished with an overall record of 16-38.

Key players for Lindenwood include Tyler Thompson, who has been performing well offensively with a .440 batting average and Eli Brown leading the pitching staff with an ERA of 5.25.

The Illinois State team's schedule for this season includes matchups against teams that averaged 27 wins last year and features five NCAA regional qualifiers: Evansville, Illinois, Indiana State, Oral Roberts, and Oklahoma State.

Illinois State will host the Missouri Valley Conference Championships from May 20 to May 24 at Duffy Bass Field in Normal, Illinois—marking the first time since 2019 that they have hosted this event.

Following this weekend's series against Lindenwood, Illinois State will play against Oral Roberts on March 5 before engaging in a three-game series with Oklahoma State from March 7 to March 9.

For more updates on Illinois State Baseball activities and information about tickets or merchandise visit GoRedbirds.com or follow their social media platforms including X (@RedbirdBaseball), Instagram (isuredbirdbaseball), and Facebook (Illinois State Baseball).