Illinois State Baseball Fall World Series Showcases Strong Redbird Rookie Class

Image courtesy of Illinois State Baseball on Twitter

NORMAL, Ill. – Every year at the end of fall practices, the Redbird baseball team hosts a Fall World Series. The Fall World Series consists of players within the program facing off against each other on two different teams. The series is played to five games.

This year the teams were drafted by two Redbird baseball coaches and two players; one player and one coach for each team. This year, they decided to name their teams based on both managers’ last names combined. The Wussiers were managed by graduate assistant Colin Wyman and junior pitcher Jordan Lussier. On the other side was the Marolas managed by assistant coach Derek Parola and junior pitcher Cameron Mabee.

You always hope for the most competitive series when it comes to the Fall World Series, but this year it was all about the Wussiers. Jordan Lussier and Colins Wymans’ team managed to pull off a 3-0 sweep of the Marolas.

“We managed to get out to an early lead in the series and then just keep the pressure on,” said Jordan Lussier, captain of the winning Wussiers. “We managed to get them down on themselves, which helped with us winning the whole thing.”

While obviously, the Fall World Series gives a chance for everyone on the team to compete, it is also a chance to see some of the players go during in-game action. Lussier and Cameron Mabee spoke very highly of plenty of their teammates and their performances during these games.

“We have a really good group of new incomers,” Mabee said. “It is hard to pick just one guy out of this group because they all come ready to work every day.”

When talking about this new group, Mabee specifically talked about all the good things he has seen from Daniel Pacella. Pacella is a freshman infielder from Mundelein, Illinois.

“Pacella was a bat that I wanted in my lineup,” said Mabee. “They (Wussiers) kept on intentionally walking him.”

Both guys also spoke about some veterans of the program who are taking on leadership roles. Lussier and Mabee both talked about how Luke Cheng and Justin Foy are leaders of the program who can help lead them to success.

“Foy had a really good fall this year which set him up in a really good spot for others to follow his lead,” said Mabee. “He is a vocal person, so he is the perfect lead-by-example type of guy.”

“Cheng manages to control the whole field on defense.” Lussier said, “He is definitely seen as a leader for the younger guys.”

Lussier and Mabee mentioned a ton of other players that stood out not only in the Fall World Series but the entire fall practice season. They seem to have a positive outlook on how the roster is constructed heading into this upcoming season.

“These games are good for us because they are super competitive which is something you don’t always get in the fall,” said Lussier. “It allows us to see where some of our weaknesses are and make adjustments for the spring.”

The Redbirds baseball season will start in late February 2023.