Illinois baseball hosts Western Michigan in a 6 p.m. first pitch at Illinois Field.
In high school softball, Pontiac topped Morton 4-1 and Tremont beat El Paso-Gridley 7-1. In baseball, Fieldcrest defeated Woodland-Flanagan-Cornell 12-5.
MiKyle McIntosh won’t return to Illinois State men’s basketball next season. Redbird coach Dan Muller confirmed that McIntosh will declare for the NBA draft. Muller says if McIntosh does not turn pro, he will graduate this spring and transfer. The Redbirds have now lost four starters from the past season with the other three due to graduation.
Illinois State’s Riley Strandgard is the Missouri Valley Conference Softball Player of the Week. The Redbirds host Bradley tomorrow for a 5:00 doubleheader to Pack the Park.
The Cardinals defeated the Pirates 2-1 to end a three-game losing streak. Lance Lynn earned the victory with seven strong innings while Ivan Nova took the tough loss with a complete game. Kolten Wong homered for the Cardinals while Jose Martinez drove in the other Redbird run. The Cards face the Pirates again tonight at Busch Stadium, with Chad Kuhl starting for Pittsburgh against the Cardinals’ Mike Leake.
The Cubs lost for the fourth straight time as the Brewers prevailed 6-3. Milwaukee’s Eric Thames homered for the fifth straight game. The series continues tonight at Wrigley Field with Jimmy Nelson on the hill for the Brewers while the Cubs give the ball to Brett Anderson.
The Yankees extended their winning streak to eight games with a 7-4 win over the White Sox. The rematch tonight pits Miguel Gonzalez for the Sox against the Yankees’ Luis Severino.
The Bulls are in Boston for Game 2 of their first round NBA playoff series. The Bulls won the opener on Sunday.
The Blackhawks are in trouble, down 3-0 in their first round Stanley Cup Playoff series after losing 3-2 in overtime at Nashville. Game 4 is Thursday night in Nashville.
