#2 Illinois State (27-22, 15-6) vs. #7 Bradley (20-30, 8-13)
- 12:30 p.m. (Maines, ISU vs. Cooper, BU)
The Redbirds are fresh off a regular-season MVC title in baseball for the first time ever. They will take that momentum with them to Wichita where they hope win the conference title for the first time since 1994. Illinois State will bring with them the Coach of the Year in Mark Kingston and Player of the Year Kevin Tokarski.
Season Series: These two pitchers squared off 11 days ago in a 10-4 Redbird win in Normal. The Redbirds went on to win two out of three after winning the first two games of the series. ISU pitcher Corey Maines allowed only two runs on seven hits in 6.1 innings against Cooper. The Redbirds scored 4 in the second and 4 more in the eighth to break open the game. Cooper, roughed up, allowed six runs on 11 hits in 6 innings of work.
#4 Southern Illinois (28-27, 10-10) vs. #5 Evansville (30-25, 10-11)
- 4:00 p.m. (Forer, SIU vs. Dennis, EU)
Southern Illinois is seeking their first conference tournament title since 1990. Evansville took two of three against Illinois State to earn the #5 seed and forced a tie between the Redbirds and Shockers at the top of the Valley standings. Evansville starter Keegan Dennis has a May record of 1-0 with a 2.20 ERA and has allowed just four runs in 16.1 innings.
Season Series: Forer is o-1 against the Purple Aces this year, losing the opening game of the three game series 14-2. The Salukis rebounded to win the last two to take the season series 2-1. In that opening game, Forer allowed five earned runs in six innings before the bullpen allowed an additional nine runs. The Purples Aces hit a school record eight doubles in their only win in the series including a Cody Fick grand slam. Keegan Dennis allowed two runs over seven innings in picking up the win.
#1 Wichita State (38-18, 15-6) vs. #8 Missouri State (20-32, 6-15)
- 7:30 p.m. (Cooper, WSU vs. Kickham, MSU)
Six Wichita State players made the first and second all-conference teams including Pitcher of the Year Jordan Cooper and Newcomer of the Year Preston Spring, DH. Three Bears were also selected to the first and second teams. With some help from Evansville, who took two out of three against Illinois State, the Shockers tied the Redbirds for first place. They won the tiebreaker and earned the #1 seed as hosts of this tournament.
Season Series: The Shockers weren’t able to pull off sweep against the last place Bears. The Bears managed to win the last game 10-3 after dropping the first two 3-0 and 8-0. Valley Pitcher of the Year Jordan Cooper scattered six hits in a 14 strikeout complete game. Mike Kickham had 10 strikeouts in eight innings of work but did not get any offensive support.
