Box Score
SPRINGFIELD, Mo. – An RBI double from Derek Parola was all Brady Huffman and Jack Landwehr needed as the Illinois State baseball team stunned top seed and host Missouri State in the opening round of the Missouri Valley Conference Tournament overnight at Hammons Field. Illinois State won by a 1-0 score.
Parola's sixth-inning double provided the difference in a pitchers' duel which did not get underway until after 11 p.m. Wednesday night, due to a pair of delays in games earlier during the day.
Huffman pitched 6.2 shutout innings, allowing just three hits and three walks, while striking out six. Landwehr finished out the win with 2.1 near-flawless innings to earn his second save of the season.
The win marked Illinois State's second win over Missouri State, currently ranked No. 12 nationally, in less than a week. Illinois State is the only Valley team to beat the Bears in 2017.
No. 8 seed Illinois State (14-38) advances to play No. 5 seed Wichita State (28-28) at 7:30 p.m. Thursday at Hammons Field.
"We had to play a perfect game and that's what we did. You couldn't play any better. We did everything we needed to do," said Illinois State head coach Bo Durkac. "It's just a great win for this team, so we're excited, and no better team to do it against than the No. 1 seed at their home field.
"It was a long day today with multiple delays – I've never started a game at 11 o'clock at night – and we're all dragging, but the good news is we all get to sleep in because we don't have to play again until tomorrow night."
Both Huffman and Missouri State starter Doug Still dueled for the first five innings of Wednesday night's contest. Illinois State's best scoring chance early on came in the fifth inning when Joe Butler and Nick Zouras strung together back-to-back two-out singles, but both were left stranded when Noah Sadler lined out to left field.
The Redbirds got on the scoreboard the next inning, though, when Owen Miller singled to set the table for the RBI double from Parola.
Missouri State (37-16) threatened in the seventh, loading the bases against Huffman, but Landwehr struck out Hunter Steinmetz on three pitches to diffuse the situation.
Landwehr retired the Bears in order in the eighth and then worked around a two-out walk in the ninth to pick up the save and help the Redbirds advance.
Thursday's game will be broadcast live through The Valley on ESPN3, and links for live video and stats are available at GoRedbirds.com. Fans can also follow @RedbirdBaseball on Twitter for live updates and more.
GoRedbirds.com: Your online source for Illinois State Athletics tickets, Weisbecker Scholarship Fund gifts, multimedia, Redbird merchandise, photos and more.
