Eastern is traveling to Normal to battle against in-state rival Illinois State University.

The Panthers (8-13) are coming off a 3-1 home stand against Indiana University-Purdue University Fort Wayne.

The Redbirds (7-13) are recovering after losing four games to Wichita State over the weekend.

Pitching is on the minds of both coaches as they head into Tuesday’s.

Eastern head coach Jim Schmitz said there is confidence in the hitters, and they finally have the hitting aspect of the game down.

“We feel good going into mid-week games. We were not swinging the bat last week,” Schmitz said.

Schmitz also said they had struggled earlier this year in mid-week games because they need better starting pitching.

“The key is to have better starting pitching so that sophomore pitcher Jason Pinnell and senior pitcher Nathan Stone can come in and get a save or a win,” Schmitz said.

Schmitz said he will turn to junior Andy Kuntz to fill the mid-week starters role.

“He came in relief and had two really great innings last weekend,” Schmitz said. “We are hoping he will be the guy to give us the kick. We need him to get us going so the guys think they have a chance.”

Illinois State head coach Jim Brownlee is also concerned about developing and having a strong pitching staff. Brownlee said he is concerned about developing pitchers down the line, and it’s always good to play in-state rivals.

“It’s a non-conference game, and it’s supposed to be 75 degrees,” Brownlee said. “We are just enjoying the day, and it’s an opportunity to play outside.”

Brownlee, in his first season with the Redbirds, also said they are just trying to build their program right now, and they are not going to focus on their losses against Wichita State.

“Our losses against Wichita came down to they just got on a roll, and we couldn’t get in it,” Brownlee said. “In baseball you try to focus on what is going on this week and not focus what has gone on last week.”

Two driving forces for the Redbirds are freshman catcher Jay Molina and sophomore outfielder Jeremy Pickrel. Pickrel is batting .379 and Molina is batting .383 respectively.

Eastern plays Illinois State Tuesday at 3 p.m.