Fresno State jumped out to a 9-0 lead through the top of the fifth inning and appeared ready to cruise to an easy victory. However, Illinois State scored seven runs in the bottom of the fifth and sixth innings and missed opportunities to tie or take the lead in the seventh and eighth as the Bulldogs beat the Birds, 10-7, in the second day of the Johnny Quik Classic in Fresno, Calif.
As much as I hate to say it, the start of this game was sort of predictable, said Illinois State head coach Jeff Stewart. Typically, when you put a young pitcher on the mound in a big game situation, they have the tendency to get full of adrenaline that they tend to overthrow and flatten out their pitches. We just dug ourselves to big of a hole early.
Jon Peacock went 1-for-3 for Illinois State with a home run and three RBI, while Greg Blaesing and Chris Shepherd each went 2-for-4 with a run and a RBI apiece. Sophomore Todd Stein (0-1) got the loss for the Birds.
Fresno State, 10-12 overall, jumped out to an early lead, 2-0, in the top of the first inning with a RBI single by Casey McGee followed by a sacrifice fly to left field by Brian Pierce. The Birds had a chance to tie it up in the bottom of the inning, but left Jon Peacock and Mike Saunches stranded on first and second when Jake Blair flew out to left field to end the side.
Tobey Riday-White hit a homer to left-center with two outs in the second that put two more on the scoreboard for the Bulldogs. Another home run by Pierce opened up the third inning and increased the Fresno State lead to five, 5-0.
The Bulldogs continued their hitting in the fifth inning. A RBI triple to left-center by Joey Myers was followed by a third Fresno State homer, this time by Chris Patrick. A RBI single to left field by Ben Fritz ended the Bulldog scoring in the inning with the score, 9-0.
The Redbird bats came alive and put five runs on the board in the bottom of the fifth to cut the lead to four, 9-5. Jeremy Pickrel led off with a stand-up double to left-center. He scored on a single by Greg Blaesing to center field. After a RBI single by Jake Perganson and a walk by Mike Saunches, Jon Peacock crushed a home run over the left field wall that made the score, 9-5.
But the Birds were not finished. In the sixth, Jeremy Accardo led off with a single to center. Then with two outs, back-to-back doubles by Chris Shepherd and Ryan Cantrell scored two more runs and cut the Bulldog lead to two, 9-7.
Illinois State, 1-7 overall, was unable to capitalize on an early Fresno State error in the seventh and left two runners stranded on first and second. The Birds also left two runners stranded on second and third in the eighth inning with just one out. The Bulldogs added an insurance run in the ninth to seal the 10-7 victory.
We were able to channel our adrenaline later in the game, said Stewart. We showed character today and learned some valuable lessons on how to play on the road in big game situations. We just couldnt get the two-out hit in the eighth that we needed to win this one.
Illinois State continues tournament action Wednesday, March 13, against Gonzaga at 6 p.m. central time.
