Sophomore pitcher Kyle Zaleski picked up the win as Illinois State earned its first victory of the season, 4-3, over the Gauchos of California-Santa Barbara in the first game of the Pepsi/Johnny Quik Classic in Fresno, Calif.
We played really well and had a nice combination of strike throwing and play making, said Illinois State head coach Jeff Stewart. We didnt have a ton of hits, but the ones we had were timely. Our defense was tight and had some really big plays.
Brad Bouris led Illinois State from the plate going 2-for-3 with a run and RBI. Kevin ODell and Jake Perganson both went 1-for-4 in the game and each earned a RBI. Accardo earned the save for the Redbirds.
Jon Peacock gave the Birds the lead, 1-0, in the top of the second when he walked to lead off the inning. He later scored on a single to left field by Brad Bouris with two outs.
Illinois State, 1-6 overall, put two more on the scoreboard in the fourth to increase its lead to 3. Mike Saunches reached on a single to centerfield and scored two batters later when Jake Perganson singled with two outs. Perganson was able to advance to second on the throw to home plate, moved to third on a single by Bouris and then scored when Jeremy Accardo reached on an error by the Gauchos second baseman Chris Malec.
California-Santa Barbara, 11-10, tacked on two runs in the bottom of the fifth when Andy Campanella hit a double to centerfield that scored C.J. Cook and Nate Sutton. However, Campanella got caught in a run-down between second and third and was unable to score the tying run when Ryan Spilborghs hit a single to centerfield two batters later.
In the sixth, Bouris was hit by a pitch, advanced on a balk by Kevin Miller, and later scored on a single to right field by Kevin ODell to increase the score, 4-2.
Santa Barbara made things interesting in the bottom of the ninth. Jeremy Accardo came over from shortstop to pitch the inning for the Birds. After striking out the first batter, Accardo gave up a single to Nate Sutton and a walk to Campanella. Dave Licht grounded out to second, but Sutton and Campanella were able to advance to third and second respectively. Accardo intentionally walked Spilborghs and loaded the bases for Malec. Malec hit a single to left field for a RBI, but Campanella was unable to take a shot at scoring from second. Accardo ended the game by striking out Josh McCanne with the bases loaded.
Illinois State continues tournament action tomorrow against host Fresno State at 9 p.m. central time.
