The University of Illinois Springfield baseball team heads to Southwest Baptist this weekend for a four-game series against the Bearcats.
 
UIS has won 17 out of its last 18 contests, and it is now 25-3 on the year. The Prairie Stars are ranked sixth in the latest national poll. The Prairie Stars are 21-3 in GLVC play, and they have a 2 ½ game lead in the GLVC Green Division.
 
Last week, UIS swept a four-game series at Drury. The Prairie Stars scored 50 runs in the series, and allowed just 17. The Prairie Stars batted .368 for the four-game set, and their batters reached base nearly every other at-bat with a .492 on-base percentage. On the mound, UIS had a 3.94 ERA, and its pitchers struck out 40 batters in 32 innings.
 
Austin Alderman was named the GLVC Player of the Week after having a .615 batting average, 1.308 slugging percentage, and .750 on-base percentage against Drury. He had 10 RBI and scored six times. Kal Youngquist hit .563 and extended his hitting streak to 32 games. Pitcher Chad Saner improved to 5-0 on the year after allowing just two hits and one run in five innings. He has a 5-0 record this year with a 2.15 ERA and .181 opponent batting average.
 
Each individual GLVC school will determine their own attendance policy for baseball. Please check the policies of the home teams if interested in attending a contest. (Southwest Baptist)
 
UIS vs. Southwest Baptist
Date/Time/Location: Saturday, April 24, 3:00 p.m. – Bolivar, Mo. (DH)
Date/Time/Location: Sunday, April 25, 12:00 p.m. – Bolivar, Mo. (DH)
Streaming: https://glvcsn.com/sbu/
Live Stats: https://www.sbubearcats.com/sidearmstats/baseball/summary
All-Time Series: First Meeting
 
Southwest Baptist went 2-2 last weekend in a four-game series at Truman State. The Bearcats are now 13-15 overall, and 9-14 in GLVC play. Southwest Baptist is fifth in the league's Green Division, 1 ½ games out of a spot in the GLVC Tournament.
 
The Bearcats are led by their pitching, which is 26^th in the nation and fourth in the GLVC with 10.6 strikeouts per nine innings. They have a 6.41 ERA on the year. Offensively, Southwest Baptist is scoring 6.8 runs a game, and ranks sixth in the league with a .407 on-base percentage.
 
Ryan Carmack is in the top-10 in the conference with a 3.25 ERA, and ranks 50^th in the nation with 13.00 strikeouts per nine innings. Offensive team leaders included Rhys Cratty with 36 hits, Zach Ehlen with 33 runs, and Colby Sneed with 27 RBI.
 
UIS and Southwest Baptist will be meeting for the first time on the diamond on Saturday.
 
Up Next
UIS will be home for its final eight games of the regular season after the Southwest Baptist series. That includes a series on April 30-May 2 against William Jewell.