COOKEVILLE, Tenn. – The Illinois State baseball team continued its road swing to start the season, as the Redbirds squared off against 2017 Ohio Valley Conference champion Tennessee Tech Friday in the first of a three-game series. ISU (2-2) recorded 11 hits in the contest, but a five-run third inning for TTU (3-1) was too much to overcome as the Redbirds dropped the first game of the weekend by a score of 7-4 at Bush Stadium.
Tennessee Tech jumped out to an early 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first inning on a solo home run. The Redbirds got that run back in the top half of the third inning on a solo shot by Derek Parola, which tied the game at 1-1. However, in the bottom of the third the Golden Eagles tacked on five runs to take a 6-1 lead. After the leadoff hitter struck out but reached first base on a throwing error, a two-run homerun put TTU up 3-1. A sacrifice fly pushed the third run of the inning across the plate and the inning was capped off on a two-run homerun that gave Tennessee Tech a five-run lead.
ISU bounced right back in the top of the fourth inning to trim the lead in half at 6-3. A RBI double off the bat of John Rave plated Collin Braithwaite and then a RBI single by Ryan Hutchinson scored Rave for the second run of the frame. The Redbirds added another run in the top of the fifth on a solo homerun by Owen Miller, his first of the season, to cut the TTU lead to 6-4 after the fifth.
The Golden Eagles would push a run across the plate in the bottom of the seventh to make it 7-4, and the Redbirds were held scoreless over the final two innings of play suffer the loss in game one of the series. ISU starter Brady Huffman (0-2) suffered the loss, after allowing six runs (only two of which were earned) on five hits while striking out four in four innings of work. Colton Johnson was solid in relief, allowing just one run on four hits in four innings on the mound. Rave paced the Redbirds at the plate, going 3-for-4 with a RBI and a run scored.
Links for live 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.
Â
