Due to poor defensive play, the Illinois State baseball team fell 14-11 against Austin Peay at the Governors Classic in Clarksville, Tennessee. The Redbirds committed four errors, four wild pitches and two passed balls in the loss.
Though the Redbirds did well offensively, head coach Jeff Stewart was not pleased with his teams defensive effort.
We have to learn to make the plays out there, said Stewart. We knew Austin Peay could swing the bat, and we expected a better defensive performance from our guys.
With the loss the Redbirds fall to 0-6 on the season, while the Governors improve to 5-2 on the season.
Sparked by Ryan Cantrells leadoff double to left-center, the Redbirds exploded in the top of the first. Cantrells double, followed by a walk by Mike Saunches, left men on first and second for Jon Peacock. Peacocks single loaded the bases with one out for Jake Perganson. Pergansons single to centerfield scored Cantrell to put the Redbirds up 1-0. The next batter, Jeremy Accardo, singled to right-center to score Saunches and put the Redbirds up 2-0. Following, Jake Blairs single to center scored Peacock to put the Redbirds up 3-0 and Kevin ODells single to left added to the lead to make it 4-0.
In the bottom of the first, Joseph Peers leadoff single got things going for the Governors. Peers single and a walk by Ben Fuller put men on first and second with no outs. After an attempted double steal, in which Greg Blaesing threw out Peer, Fuller advanced to second. Later, an error by Cantrell allowed Fuller to score.
The Redbirds came right back with two runs of their own in the top of the second. Lance McMillan led off the inning with a double to left-center. McMillan advanced to third after a groundout by Saunches, and Peacocks fourth homerun of the season put the Redbirds up 6-1.
After a sacrifice fly by Michael Johnson and a two-run homerun by Derrick Dunbar the Governors added three in the bottom half of the third to make the score 6-4.
In the top of the fourth, the Redbirds added to their lead. A walk by McMillan followed by a single by Saunches put men on first and third for Peacock. Peacock then walked to load the bases with one out for Perganson. Pergansons single scored McMillan to give the Redbirds a 7-4 lead. A single by Accardo would later score Saunches and Peacock to give the Redbirds a 9-4 lead.
Yet, in the bottom of the fourth, the Governors added a run of their own. After a leadoff single by Travis Beech, a wild pitch and a throwing error allowed Beech to advance to third. He would later score on a groundout by Fuller to make the score 9-5.
In the bottom of the fifth, the Redbirds defense allowed the Governors to get back in the game. After loading the bases with no outs, the Governors scored on two consecutive groundouts in which the Redbirds were unable to turn a double play. Later, they would add another run as a result of a wild pitch to make the score 9-8.
In the bottom of the sixth, the Governors would strike again. Fullers second homerun of the season tied the game at nine.
The Governors took the lead for good in the bottom of the seventh. Back-to-back singles by Johnson and Matthew Ledbetter put men on first and second with no outs. After another wild pitch by the Redbirds advanced the runners to second and third, Beech hit his second homerun of the year put the Governors up 12-9. Later, a two-run double by A. J. Ellis put the Governors up 14-9.
The Redbirds scored two runs in the top of the ninth. However, with a runner on second, pinch-hitter Scott Bialobreski struck out looking to end the game.
The Redbirds will return to action on March 11, at the Johnny Quick Tournament in Fresno, California.
