Second baseman Jim Chiappetta put the finishing touches on a four-game sweep of Saint Xavier with his third homer of the series as the Redbirds defeated the Cougars 9-4 and 8-5 in non-conference action from Redbird Field Sunday.
Sunday featured one of those rare occasions in which the top of the top of the mighty Redbird lineup took a back seat to the guys at the bottom of the order. Although the Redbirds one through five hitters went only 2-for-19 at the plate, it was the bottom of the order, led by Chiappetta, catcher Steve Reyes and shortstop Jeremy Accardo that answered the bell.
The trio hit a collective 6-for-8 at the plate with five runs scored and four RBI in support of a strong performance by starter Matt Hines in the series finale.
Hines (2-2) provided the Redbirds with one of his finest performances of the year, holding the Cougars (19-22) to only run earned run on six hits over five and two-thirds innings.
Matt did a great job for us today, he found a rhythm for about five innings and was really able to mix things up nicely, ISU head coach Jeff Stewart said.
Chiappetta came into the weekend with two homers in 190 career at bats, but that didnt stop the 5-foot-9, 160-pound middle infielder from playing a little long ball of his own in leading the Redbirds (20-17) to their first four-game sweep of the season.
The Birds scratched the scoring column in the second inning when sophomore third baseman Jon Peacock ignited the three-run inning with a two out single to right. Consecutive singles by Chiappetta and Reyes and an error by Cougar left fielder Brian Flannagan plated Peacock and moved both runners into scoring position for Accardo who came through with a two-run single to center.
ISU tacked on another run in the third on a sacrifice fly to right field by Jared Dufault which plated Jason Scherer.
Chiappetta, who cranked a grand slam in the series-opener and a solo shot in the first game of Saturdays doubleheader, belted his third homer of the series, a solo shot in the fourth inning to get the Redbirds rolling once again.
Im seeing the ball really well right now, Chiappetta said. As soon as the ball left my bat I knew it was gone, thats the first time in my career here that I was able to sit back and watch the ball leave the park without having to haul around the bases.
After being hit by a pitch, Reyes advanced to third on Accardos single to center and scored two pitches later on a balk to close out the two-run ISU fifth inning.
The Birds added insurance runs in the seventh and eighth innings before the Cougars rallied for four runs in the ninth inning.
Although Mike Saunches walked twice and Jared Dufualt walked and scored once, their 18 and 20-game hitting streaks were snapped with 0-for-3 performances at the plate.
In the completion of Saturdays suspended game, the Birds tacked on three insurance runs in the seventh inning to secure a 9-4 victory.
Freshman Kyle Zaleski gave the Redbirds 2.2 strong innings out of the bullpen to earn his first collegiate save.
This was a great weekend for us, we pitched the ball well and got a lot of guys some work, Stewart said. We came to the park ready to play and took care of business. We saw a lot of positives and the pitching staff really took a collective step forward.
The Redbirds return to action Tuesday at Illinois at 6:30 p.m. before returning to Redbird Field for the final conference series of the year, a four-game set against Indiana State.
