SPRINGFIELD, IL --- Illinois Springfield (6-8) opens their conference season with a four game series against McKendree (8-11) at the UIS Baseball Field. The Prairie Stars are 3-7 against teams in the GLVC this season, though they are in the opposite division, so those games do not count towards conference standings. UIS is 3-3 in their last six games and will take on McKendree in double headers on both Friday and Saturday to begin the conference season.

SETTING THE SCENE
UIS is coming off a midweek defeat to #8 Quincy, where the Prairie Stars fell 17-8 to the Hawks. This was the first time all season UIS had surrendered over nine runs in a game, much in part to a 20 mph wind blowing straight out. With a 6-8 record, UIS sits sixth in the GLVC east in terms of overall records, directly above McKendree.

McKendree comes into the series winners of their last four games, beating Maryville 8-6 before sweeping Rockhurst in a 3-game series, scoring 29 runs in three games. The Bearcats are winless on the road in seven games, and have played 12 straight games at home, going 8-4 in those contests.

SENIOR STAFF
The seven senior pitchers have been taking care of business on the mound, throwing a combined 88.2 innings of the 116 innings on the season. In 88.2 innings, they have surrendered just 69 hits and 35 earned runs, giving them a combined ERA of 3.57. They have also struck out 67 batters opposed to just 34 walks on the season. Chance Simpson leads the way on the mound with a 2-0 record and 1.31 ERA. In 20.2 innings, he has surrendered just 13 hits and walked just three batters.

CLUTCH HITTING
Leading off innings, the Prairie Stars are hitting .414 on the season. At the top of the order, Trey Hannam is hitting .400 leading off innings. With runners on, UIS is hitting .280 while the Prairie Star pitchers hold opponents to a mere .230 average when runners are on.

On the flip side, with two outs, the Prairie Stars are hitting .277 opposed to .243 from their opponents  and have totaled 22 two-out RBI's on the season.

ABOUT MCKENDREE
The Bearcats are led by Keith Rogers, who has started 16 of their 19 games and is hitting .431 on the season. With 28 hits, four have left the yard and three have gone for doubles, as he also has a team high 15 RBI's. As a team, they have struck out 117 times on the season, good for over six times per game. On top of that, they have only drawn 46 walks on the season.

As a pitching staff, they hold a team ERA of 6.74 and have given up at least ten runs on five different occasions.

WHO'S ON DECK
The Prairie Stars are completing a home stand where they have played seven of their last eight games here in Springfield, and will travel to Western Illinois for a non-conference bout with the division I opponent. After that, they will travel to Evansville, Indiana to take on the Screaming Eagles of Southern Indiana to continue play in the GLVC.