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`Birds Wrap Up Homestand This Weekend with Chicago State
April 17, 2008
Complete Release in PDF Format
NORMAL, Ill. - After recording its first two victories at Duffy Bass Field earlier this week, the Illinois State baseball team (15-17) will look to build momentum during its break from the Missouri Valley Conference schedule. The Redbirds will wrap up their eight-game homestand when they play host to Chicago State (3-30) in a three-game series, beginning at 6 p.m. Friday. Head coach Jim Brownlee feels the break from the league slate will give the Redbirds a chance to regroup before the second half of the MVC schedule. "I think the break has come at an excellent time in the season," said Brownlee. "We were able to work on some things during practice Thursday, which was our first practice held outside this season. We were able to work on the fundamentals, such as base running and fly-ball communication. Those are areas we will continue to work on during our weekend series. We had a tough start to our conference season, but hopefully, we will play fundamental baseball this weekend and will get off on the right foot as we jump back into conference play." Sophomore Ryan Copeland will get the start in Friday's opener, as the left-hander looks for his fifth win of the season. Copeland has been in control during his first eight starts, as the Des Plaines, Ill., native ranks No. 1 in the nation in walks allowed per nine innings. Copeland has walked only four batters in 54.2 innings of work, which translates to less than one walk (0.66) per nine innings pitched. Senior Tyler Cox will make his fifth start of 2008 during Saturday's game, which is slated to begin at 2 p.m. Cox has posted a 4.54 earned-run average (ERA) in 33.2 innings, while he has struck out 34 batters. Cox and senior Eric Theisen are the only two Redbird pitchers to combine for a shutout, as the pair joined forces for a two-hit win (7-0) at Evansville April 5. Freshman Ben Hays will take the mound in the series finale Sunday (1 p.m.). Hays is 0-1 with a 5.79 ERA in two starts this season. Fans can follow each game with live statistics, available on GoRedbirds.com.
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