Who | Western Illinois (6-39) at Murray State (26-21)
When | Friday (May 13) at 5 p.m. | Saturday (May 14) at 2 p.m. | Sunday (May 15) at 1 p.m.
Where | Johnny Reagan Field (Murray Ky.)
Watch | ESPN+ (Saturday and Sunday only)
Social Media | Twitter + Facebook #TRADITIONofTOUGH
Western Illinois baseball will take a break from the Summit League this weekend and battle the Murray State Racers for a three-game series in Murray, Ky.
Headlines
- Western Illinois is coming off a loss at Alfred D. Boyer Stadium on Tuesday (May 10), dropping a one-run contest to the Eastern Illinois Panthers 7-6. WIU held a one-run lead heading into the eighth inning, but a two-run single by Eastern Illinois in the eighth was the difference-maker.
- CJ Richmond hit his second home run in a three-game stretch against the Panthers. Richmond's two-run shot was his fourth home run of the season, tying Gage Cruz as the team leader.
- Western Illinois has a number of records to keep an eye on in the final two weeks of the regular season.
- Jace Warkentien has pitched in 247.2 innings in his Leatherneck career, which ranks fourth all-time. Warkentien needs 16.2 more innings this season to reach third all-time. The record-holder is Brian Quinn (1994-97) with 288.0 career innings.
- Warkentien is fifth all-time in career strikeouts at 201, becoming just the fifth Leatherneck to reach 200 career K's. Warkentien needs 20 strikeouts before the end of the season to pass his former teammate Javin Drake (2017-20) to become second all-time. Kent Murphy (1982-85) holds the record with 237 strikeouts.
- Jack Bell appeared in his 27th game of the season in Tuesday's game versus Eastern Illinois. Bell has made the second most pitching appearances in a single season and needs four more to break Cory Domel's (2000) record of 30 appearances in a season.
- Nick Mitchell is T-eighth in most steals in a single season with 25. Mike Mohr (1987) holds the record for most in a year with 40. Mitchell currently leads the Summit League with his 25 steals.
- As a team, Western Illinois has stolen 95 bases on the year, which ranks sixth all-time in a single season. WIU will attempt to reach 100 this season to become just the sixth team in school history to reach 100 steals in a season. The 1974 Leathernecks hold the record with 136 in a season.
- Kory Olsen and Nick Mitchell are neck and neck in RBI and multi-hit games this season. Both players are tied as the team leader with 24 RBIs and 15 multi-hit games.
- Western Illinois' stolen base number continues to dominate the Summit League. WIU is the top stealing team in the conference, and the next closest team is North Dakota State with 66. Western Illinois had just 35 steals all of last season and looks to be the league leader for the first time since 2019.
- Adam Juran has been a major offensive contributor in Summit League play this season, batting .231 with 13 RBIs. Juran's 13 RBIs against Summit League opponents is tied with Olsen for sixth-best in the Summit League.
- WIU and Murray State have five all-time matchups. The Leathernecks took the first meeting 15-14 back in 1999, but Murray State has won the last four. The two teams played a three-game series back in 2018 in Murray. Dillon Sears hit 4-11 in the series as a freshman and will look to be a big factor at the plate in the upcoming contests.
Probable Starters | Friday: Jace Warkentien versus Hayden Wynja | Saturday: Chandler Fochs versus Ryan Fender | Sunday: Caden Kratz versus TBD.
On Deck | Western Illinois will look to split the season series in a rematch at Eastern Illinois on Tuesday (May 17). First pitch from Charleston is scheduled for 3 p.m.
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