Lance McMillan hit a grand slam and Illinois State starter Kyle Bloom recorded 13 strikeouts in seven innings as the Redbirds take the final game, 10-6, in their four-game series against Creighton at Redbird Field.
Illinois State splits the series with the Bluejays and improves its overall record to 7-8 with a 2-2 record in the Missouri Valley Conference. Creighton falls to 5-15 on the season and 2-2 in the Valley. The two teams combined for 23 hits in the game and the Redbirds overcame four errors to earn the win.
Jay Molina went 3-for-4 on the day with three RBI and a run scored, while Jeremy Pickrel also had three hits going 3-for-5 with three runs scored. McMillan finished 1-for-4 with four RBI.
This was a great weekend for us, because our kids showed grit and kept battling, said Illinois State head coach Jim Brownlee. We can score runs in a hurry and this weekend showed what Missouri Valley Conference baseball is all about.
The Redbirds jumped out to an early 2-0 lead in the first inning after Jeremy Pickrel led off with a double to left-center and Jeremy Accardo was hit by a pitch to put Illinois States first two batters on with no outs. After a Jon Peacock walk, Jay Molina scored Peacock on a sac fly to right field and a groundout to short scored Accardo to give the Birds their second run.
Illinois State got four straight hits to start off the bottom of the third inning, including a two-RBI triple by Peacock to the gap in right-center that scored Pickrel and Accardo and extended the Redbird lead to four. A base hit by Molina brought Peacock across the plate later in the inning and Illinois State took a five run lead into the fifth, 5-0.
Creighton answered in the top of the fifth batting through their order and scored five runs off six hits, including a two-run homer to right-center that knotted the game at 5-5. Illinois State was not to be outdone and put up five runs of its own and took a 10-5 lead in the bottom of the inning highlighted by a grand slam to left-center by Redbird designated hitter Lance McMillan.
Bloom put the fifth inning behind him and pitched two more solid innings for Illinois State before being relieved by Brady Salter to start the eighth inning.
Illinois State continues its season with a non-conference, home game against Missouri on Wednesday, March 26, at 4 p.m.
