An electrifying performance on the mound Saturday by true freshman Sean Manaea and junior Chris Machado who combined to four-hit Illinois State in a 3-1 victory. Robby Ort was perfect at the plate with two hits, two walks and was hit by a pitch. He had one RBI. Burnam got a home run, walked, was hit by a pitch driving in one run and scoring two runs...so he was involved in all three runs Saturday!
Sunday is a new day...a day in which Jason Van Skike takes to the mound. Van Skike had a stellar performance pitching seven innings in Tuesday's in 3-0shutout of SIU-Edwardsville. In that game, Van Skike allowed just four hits and walked noone! That's the kind of strike zone pounding we need in Sunday's game. So far in three MVC appearances, Van Skike is 1-1 with a 7.90 ERA. He has also, in 13.1 innings, allowed 18 hits, 14 walks and has three wild pitches. Let's hope we see the same Van Skike we saw on Tuesday.
At the plate, in MVC play, ISU has a team batting average of .253, with Robby Ort leading the pack with a .368 average. Burnam (.313), Wampler (.308) and Lucas (.308) have also been effective. Four players are struggling at the plate: Pearson (.226), Walterhouse (.160), Hedges (.140) and Miera (.077). This all translates to ISU averaging only 3.66 runs per game in MVC play. You've ehard me say on several occasions that idealy, a team should have an average of at least six runs per game.
The Redbirds will counter with RHP J.D. Learnard (4-2. 4.15 ERA overall). Last week against Wichita State, Learnard picked up six innings, giving up four runs, two earned, on six hits and two walks. Learnard got the win in the 8-4 contest. Overall this season, Learnard has walked 20 and hit 14 batters and opposing batters had a .268 average.
If both pitchers are on their games, this could be another low-scoring affair.
The weather should be mostly cloudy with a temperature of 56 at the 2:00 (ET) gametime. Winds will be from the west at 5-15 mph. There's a slight chance for showers.
The game will be live on WBOW (1300 AM) and on-line, on live blogging with Danny Pfrank (I highly recommend this), via Twitter and through live stats.
Sunday is a new day...a day in which Jason Van Skike takes to the mound. Van Skike had a stellar performance pitching seven innings in Tuesday's in 3-0shutout of SIU-Edwardsville. In that game, Van Skike allowed just four hits and walked noone! That's the kind of strike zone pounding we need in Sunday's game. So far in three MVC appearances, Van Skike is 1-1 with a 7.90 ERA. He has also, in 13.1 innings, allowed 18 hits, 14 walks and has three wild pitches. Let's hope we see the same Van Skike we saw on Tuesday.
At the plate, in MVC play, ISU has a team batting average of .253, with Robby Ort leading the pack with a .368 average. Burnam (.313), Wampler (.308) and Lucas (.308) have also been effective. Four players are struggling at the plate: Pearson (.226), Walterhouse (.160), Hedges (.140) and Miera (.077). This all translates to ISU averaging only 3.66 runs per game in MVC play. You've ehard me say on several occasions that idealy, a team should have an average of at least six runs per game.
The Redbirds will counter with RHP J.D. Learnard (4-2. 4.15 ERA overall). Last week against Wichita State, Learnard picked up six innings, giving up four runs, two earned, on six hits and two walks. Learnard got the win in the 8-4 contest. Overall this season, Learnard has walked 20 and hit 14 batters and opposing batters had a .268 average.
If both pitchers are on their games, this could be another low-scoring affair.
The weather should be mostly cloudy with a temperature of 56 at the 2:00 (ET) gametime. Winds will be from the west at 5-15 mph. There's a slight chance for showers.
The game will be live on WBOW (1300 AM) and on-line, on live blogging with Danny Pfrank (I highly recommend this), via Twitter and through live stats.
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