ST. LOUIS -- ESPN has notified the Missouri Valley Conference that two telecasts featuring four league teams will be a part of ESPN's most comprehensive collegiate baseball schedule to date.
#23 Dallas Baptist will travel to Indiana State on Thursday, April 30, as the Patriots and Sycamores will battle in an MVC contest that will air on ESPNU at 7:30 p.m. (ET). Missouri State will play host to Illinois State in an MVC contest on Sunday, April 5, that will be shown on ESPNU at 4:00 p.m. (ET).
The matchup between the Patriots and the Sycamores will take place at Bob Warn Field, site of Indiana State's home games. The game between Missouri State and Illinois State will be played at Hammons Field in Springfield, Missouri, site of the Bears' home contests and one of the premier college baseball facilities in the nation.
The April 30 production will feature defending regular-season champion DBU and an Indiana State team that won the MVC tournament title in 2019. Indiana State (43-18) and DBU (43-20) registered 40 wins on the season in 2019, marking the 15th time since the 1992 season that at least two Valley teams tallied 40 or more victories. DBU reached the 40-win plateau for the sixth-straight season. The Patriots join Louisville and Florida State as the only three NCAA Division I programs with 40+ triumphs in six-straight seasons.
The April 5 telecast will showcase a Redbird team that earned a share of the MVC regular-season title, facing one of The Valley's standout baseball programs in Missouri State. Illinois State made the NCAA field, playing in the Louisville Regional in 2019, but falling to the host Cardinals in the final. Missouri State will look to get back into postseason play after a one-year absence.
For the 25th time in league history, multiple MVC baseball teams were selected as part of the field of 64 teams to play for the 2019 College World Series title. The Valley was one of only seven leagues to have three or more teams selected for the NCAA Championship. The Valley joined the SEC (10), ACC (8), Big 12 (5), Big Ten (5), Pac-12 (5) and American (3) with three or more in the field.
The Valley had three teams ranking in the Top 30 of the RPI in 2019 (DBU, Indiana State and Illinois State), joining only four other leagues in the club (SEC, ACC, Big 12 and Pac-12). The MVC finished the 2019 season 6th in conference RPI.
