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NORMAL, Ill. – Xavier scored four runs each in the third and fourth innings and the Illinois State baseball team was never able to recover Sunday as the visiting Musketeers earned an 11-5 win to take two out of three games in the series with the Redbirds.
Xavier's Andre Jernigan went 4-for-5 with two doubles, a home run and six RBIs to help the visitors to the win, as Illinois State failed to win one day after snapping a 10-game losing streak.
Illinois State (8-19) scored the first runs of the game Sunday, plating two in the bottom of the first inning. Sean Beesley and Joe Kelch reached base to set the table, and Jean Ramirez and Daniel Dwyer strung together back-to-back singles to drive them in.
Xavier (10-18) took control in the third, however, scoring four runs off Illinois State starter Jacob Hendren. Dan Rizzie drove in the first run with an RBI groundout, before Jernigan doubled to left field to score two more. Blaine Griffiths capped the inning with an RBI single to center.
The Musketeers added four more in the fourth, as Rizzie started the rally again with an RBI single to center. Joe Gellenbeck followed with a single to bring Jernigan to the plate, and the shortstop provided another big hit, this time a three-run home run.
The Redbirds got one run back in the bottom of the fifth, when Ryan Hutchinson doubled in Ramirez, but Xavier came back with two in the top of the sixth via run-scoring hits from Jernigan and Chris Givin. The Musketeers added another run in the eighth on a sacrifice fly from Givin.
Illinois State scored two runs in the bottom of the ninth. Dwyer scored Kelch on an RBI triple and Jared Hendren capped the scoring with a run-scoring single.
Dwyer led the Redbird bats with three hits and two RBIs. Jared Hendren, Hutchinson and Derek Parola added two hits each, as the Redbird Nos. 5 through 8 batters collected nine of the team's 12 hits.
Jacob Hendren allowed nine runs, six of which were earned, over 5.2 innings. He walked one and struck out four. Rhett Rapshus allowed three hits and one run before getting the final out of the sixth inning. Jeffrey Barton pitched the seventh and eighth innings, allowing one run on two hits. Lucas Hall pitched a 1-2-3 ninth inning.
The Redbirds return to action Tuesday at Valparaiso with a game at 3 p.m. Links for live video, audio and stats for can be found at GoRedbirds.com. Fans can also receive live updates from the games via Twitter, by following @RedbirdBaseball.
GoRedbirds.com: Your online source for Illinois State Athletics tickets, Weisbecker Scholarship Fund gifts, multimedia, Redbird merchandise, photos and more.
