I-74 Rivalry Moves to US 41
Games 17-19
Bradley (13-3) vs. Illinois State (13-5) 
March 21-22 • Terre Haute, Ind. • Bob Warn Field

For the second time in program history, Bradley Baseball will play a Missouri Valley Conference regular-season series at a neutral site when the Braves (13-3) open the league slate against Interstate 74 rival Illinois State (13-5) at Indiana State's Bob Warn Field ... The series was scheduled to be played at Illinois State, but the harsh winter has made the natural grass surfaces throughout Central Illinois unplayable and the local artificial surfaces are unavailable ... Ironically, Bradley played its 1992 series against Northern Iowa at Illinois State's Redbird Field while the re-construction of Pete Vonachen Stadium at Meinen Field was completed ... The Braves are off to their best 16-game start since 1996 ... Both teams enter the series riding 4-game winning streaks.

Series History
Games 199, 200 and 201 since 1921
ISU leads 105-93, Bradley leads 4-3 neutral
First-ever series games played in Terre Haute

Streak: Illinois State has won 6 straight
Elvis Dominguez vs. Illinois State: 3-15
Mark Kinsgston vs. Bradley: 12-2
In the 2000's: Illinois State leads 31-18

Pitching Matchups
Game 1 | Friday | 1 p.m. EDT
BU: David Koll, Jr., LHP (2-1, 1.93 ERA, 28.0 IP, 8 BB, 28 K, .188 Opp. Avg.)
ISU: Dan Savas, Jr., RHP (5-0, 1.12 ERA, 32.0 IP, 11 BB, 27 K, .184 Opp. Avg.)

Game 2 | Friday | 4 p.m. EDT
BU: Stephen Toma, Jr., RHP (1-1, 6.52 ERA, 19.1 IP, 6 BB, 13 K, .289 Opp. Avg.)
ISU: Dylan Craig, So., LHP (3-0, 1.74 ERA, 31.0 IP, 11 BB, 35 K, .187 Opp. Avg.)

Game 3 | Saturday | 1:00 p.m. EDT
BU: Cameron Roegner, So., LHP (3-0, 1.35 ERA, 13.1 IP, 1 BB, 11 K, .213 Opp. Avg.)
ISU: Jeremy Rhoades, Jr., RHP (1-1, 1.59 ERA, 17.0 IP, 5 BB, 28 K, .186 Opp. Avg.)

Neutral Site Valley Opener
For the first time since 1992, Bradley will play at Missouri Valley Conference series on a third Valley team's home field when the baseball version of the Interstate 74 Rivalry moves to US 41 in Terre Haute this weekend ... Bradley will take on Illinois State in the MVC-opening series for both teams, a 3-game set that will be played at Indiana State's Bob Warn Field due to the unplayable field conditions at Illinois State's Duffy Bass Field and throughout the region ... Illinois State will return to Bob Warn Field next weekend for a 3-game series against the Sycamores, while Bradley will not return to Indiana State's home field until the MVC Baseball Championship May 20-24 ... Bradley swept a 3-game series against Valley rival Northern Iowa April 4-5, 1992 at Illinois State's Redbird Field, where the series was moved due to the reconstruction of Pete Vonachen Stadium at Meinen Field.

Fast Start
Though the Braves have yet to experience an outdoor practice this winter, Bradley has opened the 2014 season with a 13-3 record for its best 16-game start to a season since the 1996 squad also opened 13-3 on the way to a final 40-22 overall record ... Both of the last two seasons Bradley won 13 of its first 16 games, the Braves went on to enjoy its two most-recent 40-win seasons ... The 2014 campaign marks the 10th time Bradley has won at least 13 of its first 16 games in the 114-year history of the program ... The Braves have finished with a winning record following each of the previous nine hot starts, including the two of the three 40-win seasons in program history ... Based on this weekend's outcome, Bradley has not been 15-4 since 1993 (16-3), 14-5 since 2005 or 13-6 since 2011.

Pitching Against Offense
The top two hitting teams in The Valley will match up against some of the league's top starting pitching ... Bradley enters the weekend leading The Valley with a .317 batting average and by scoring 7.9 runs per game ... Illinois State is second in league with a .305 batting average and third by averaging 6.7 runs ... Of the six scheduled starters this weekend, five enter the series with earned run averages below 2.00 (see page 1 for scheduled pitching matchups) ... Illinois State's three scheduled starters have combined for an 8-1 record with a 1.46 ERA and .186 opponent batting average ... The key to Bradley's success this weekend may be its ability to get into the Illinois State bullpen ... The other 12 Redbird pitchers to see action this season have combined for a 5-4 record with a 6.97 ERA and .283 opponent batting average.

Late-Inning Rallies
Bradley has fallen behind in 11 of the season's first 16 games, but the Braves have rallied from behind in eight of their 13 wins ... Through 16 games, Bradley is outscoring the opposition by a slim 52-45 margin through five innings ... The Braves have turned the tide after the fifth, however, by outscoring their opponents by a whopping 75-19 advantage from the sixth inning on ... In fact, Bradley's 74 runs after the fifth to start the week were more than 91 of the nation's 296 Division I teams had scored in total ... As a result, Bradley is 7-3 when trailing (5-3) or tied (2-0) after six innings this season.

NCAA Stats
As the week began, Bradley ranked among the nation's top 50 in 18 different statistical categories tracked by the NCAA, including nine in the top 20 ... Most notably, Bradley ranked second in stolen bases and stolen bases per game; sixth in on-base percentage and ninth in both runs per game and doubles per game ... Individually, six different Braves rank among the nation's top 50 in 11 different stat categories, led by junior CF Isaac Smith, who paces the country with a .488 batting average (complete list on next page).

Pitching Streaks
Bradley's pitching staff saw its streak of consecutive innings without allowing an earned run reach 34.2 innings before UIS broke through with two outs in the eighth inning Tuesday night at The Corn Crib ... While the staff's streak has been broken, Bradley's starting pitchers have allowed only one unearned run in the last four games ... LHP Elliot Ashbeck (0 runs, 14.2 IP), LHP David Koll (1 unearned run, 6.0 IP) and LHP Cameron Roegner (0 runs 5.0 IP) have combined to work 25.2 innings without allowing an earned run in the last four games.

Bullpen Success
Bradley's bullpen has been the story of the first month of the season ... During the first 16 games, the bullpen is 7-0 with four saves and a 2.29 ERA, having allowed only 49 hits and 19 walks against 60 strikeouts in its 62.0 total innings ... By comparison, the opponent bullpens have combined to go 0-6 with three saves and a 7.57 ERA, allowing 86 hits with 48 walks and 38 strikeouts in 63.0 innings.

Another National Batting Champ?
Former Bradley outfielder Mike Tauchman was named the 2013 Joe Carter MVC Player of the Year after leading the nation in hitting with a .425 batting average ... After the first month of the season, Bradley again is home to the nation's batting average leader ... Junior CF Isaac Smith began the week leading the nation with a .488 average and pushed his average to an even .500 by going 2-for-3 Tuesday night ... Sophomore SS Tyler Leffler ranks second in The Valley with a .439 batting average after his 3-for-3 effort against the Prairie Stars.

Getting On Base
A pair of Braves each have reached base safely in each of the season's first 16 games: freshman 3B Spencer Gaa and junior OF Max Murphy ... Hitting .310 with 15 walks and two hit-by-pitches against only six strikeouts, Gaa boasts a .449 on-base percentage ... Murphy is batting .295 and has drawn 13 walks with six hit-by-pitches for a .451 on-base percentage ... The second and third hitters in Bradley's order, respectively, Gaa (16) and Murphy (19) have combined to score 35 runs through 16 games ... Murphy has reached base safely in 103 of his 119 career games ... While Gaa and Murphy have been on base in every game this season, SS Tyler Leffler ranks among the national leaders with a .573 on-base percentage and OF Isaac Smith is right behind Leffler at .558.

Braves Run Wild
Bradley has swiped 47 bases in 55 attempts during the first 16 games of the season ... The Braves began the week ranked second nationally by averaging 3.07 steals per game ... The 47 steals already are more than Bradley's 2012 (41) season total and put the Braves on pace for 146 steals in their 50 scheduled games, which would obliterate tha 1956 school record of 99 stolen bases ... Leadoff man Chris Godinez leads the charge, starting the week second in The Valley with 12 stolen bases, while junior CF Isaac Smith is tied for third in The Valley with 11 steals ... Nine different Braves have contributed to the 47 stolen bases, including seven players with multiple steals.

Balls and Strikes
Bradley has returned 13 of its 16 pitchers from the 2013 season, yet the staff has experienced a complete turnaround through the first month of the 2014 campaign ... As the weekend begins, Bradley ranks among the nation's top 40 in Strikeouts-to-Walk ratio, Fewest Walks per 9 Innings and Strikeouts per 9 Innings ... Through 16 games, Bradley's pitching staff now is 13-3 with a 3.40 ERA, boasting a .238 opponent batting average, 39 walks and 124 strikeouts ... The 2013 staff finished 17-32 with a 6.37 ERA, .296 opponent batting average, 246 walks and 329 strikeouts.

Chasing The Top 10
Senior DH Greg Partyka is Bradley's active leader in most every significant offensive category, but is closing in on Bradley's top 10 for career runs batted in ... Partyka enters the weekend with 102 RBI's, leaving him 14 shy of the 10th-place tie between Matt Rader (1993-96) and Eric Kuhlman (1985-88), each with 126 ... Currently eighth on Bradley's career RBI's list, Ryan Curry is the only player to crack the top 10 in this milineum (2001-present).

Looking Ahead
Bradley will venture away from home one more time before attempting to open its home schedule when the Braves visit Iowa Wednesday afternoon ... The Braves are 35-34-2 in 71 all-time games in the series and have won three straight against the Hawkeyes ... Bradley's latest attempt to open its home schedule will come next weekend when the Braves welcome first-year Valley affiliate member Dallas Baptist to Dozer Park next Friday (6 p.m.), Saturday (2 p.m.) and Sunday (1 p.m.) ... Dallas Baptist took 2-of-3 at Dozer Park in 2012 during its trial run in The Valley.