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`Birds Face In-state rivals Illinois and Northern Illinois this Week
April 21, 2008
Complete Release in PDF Format
NORMAL, Ill. - After playing its last eight games at the friendly confines of Duffy Bass Field, freshman Kevin Tokarski and the Illinois State baseball team (17-18) will get back on the road and face two in-state rivals in Illinois and Northern Illinois this week. The Redbirds will first square off against the Fighting Illini Tuesday at 6:05 p.m., while ISU will head to DeKalb, Ill., to play the Huskies Wednesday at 3:30 p.m. Tokarski is coming off an impressive week, as the shortstop has already made his mark in the Illinois State record books. The shortstop captured the ISU single-season stolen base record by stealing four bases during Sunday's doubleheader sweep over Chicago State. Tokarski swiped a career-high tying three bags in the first game to tie the record, while he added another in the second game to capture the record with his 28th of the season. Tokarski also got in done during the Redbirds' four wins when he was in the batter's box, batting .500 with nine hits, 10 runs scored, a triple and a team-best five walks. Tokarski's .583 on-base percentage allowed him to do work on the base paths, as he was a perfect 8-for-8 in steal attempts during the week. Head coach Jim Brownlee is excited to be playing two in-state rivals and feels that the team is in position to make a leap in the Missouri Valley Conference standings as the Redbirds begin their final month of regular-season play. "We had a week off from conference play, which allowed our team to heal from some injuries," said Brownlee. "This week is an important one because we are in a good position to make the conference tournament if we can play good, fundamental baseball. We will be playing teams that are right ahead of us in the standings in our next four weekend series. Playing Illinois is always a fun game, as well as Northern Illinois. Those games are always competitive, as they are for bragging rights within the state. "It's going to be a hard week for us. Our pitching is still a little banged up, and two midweek games on the road are tough. It falls back on the hitters' ability to score runs. But I'm very excited about where we're at because we have a chance to do some things if we keep playing good baseball." Fans can follow each game with live statistics, available on GoRedbirds.com. Live audio for each game this week will be available for Redbird All-Access members, with a "Listen" link provided on the sports schedule at GoRedbirds.com.
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