ISU continues MVC play against Wichita State

[April 06, 2012]  NORMAL -- The Illinois State baseball team hosts Wichita State this weekend, as the Redbirds (18-8, 1-2 MVC) resume Missouri Valley Conference competition with a three-game series against the Shockers (17-14, 2-1), beginning Friday at 4:30 p.m.

"This weekend is another great challenge for us," said Illinois State head coach Mark Kingston. "Wichita State is a great program to compete against. We need to continue to focus on our improvement."

ISU opened its Valley schedule last weekend, going 1-2 at Indiana State. The Redbirds bounced back with a rain-shortened, nonconference 9-1 victory against Eastern Illinois Tuesday. Meanwhile, the Shockers went 2-1 in their conference opener versus Southern Illinois. WSU was also scheduled to play a midweek game at Oklahoma State, but it was rained out.

Illinois State will alter its weekend rotation for the first time this season, with former Sunday starter Dylan Craig (4-1) scheduled to start Saturday's game, and former midweek starter and reliever Jeremy Rhoades (3-1) slated to make Sunday's start. Chris Razo (4-1) will continue to serve as the Friday night starter.

Wichita State is expected to counter with Josh Smith (3-1) on Friday and Mitch Mormann (3-2) on Saturday. The Shockers' Sunday starter has not yet been announced. Offensively, WSU is led by Johnny Coy, who is hitting .336 with a team-best 35 RBI, including five home runs, eight doubles and one triple.

While Ty Wiesemeyer continues to hold the highest batting average at .366, Zac Johnson now has a team-best 28 RBIs, including four home runs, eight doubles and one triple. Eric Aguilera leads ISU with five home runs and a team-high eight multiple-RBI games.

Admission to this weekend's games, and all games at Duffy Bass Field this season, will be free. Plus, Saturday is Reggie's Kids Club Day.

[Text from news release from John Twork, Illinois State University]