Jeremy Pickrel went 2-for-4 with a homer and three RBI, but the Illinois State baseball team fell short of a rally in the final game of their Missouri Valley Conference series with Wichita State falling 15-9 at Eck Stadium in Wichita, Kan. The Shockers complete the four-game series sweep.
Chris Shepherd got out of his series hitting slump going 2-for-4 with a run scored and two RBI, while Jay Molina finished the game 2-for-5 with a home run. Illinois State falls to 7-13 overall and 2-6 in Valley play, while the Shockers improve to 19-9 overall and 4-0 in the league.
Illinois State was able to get some big hits early in the game, including a triple by Jeremy Accardo in the first inning, but the Shockers were able to respond by getting three runs in the bottom of the frame off of three straight, two-out hits by Wichita State, including a triple and a homer to take the 3-1 lead after one.
The Redbirds tied the game at 3-3 in the top of the second using a Greg Blaesing single, a Kyle Zaleski walk and an RBI single by Jeremy Pickrel that issued a fielding error on Shocker centerfielder Ryan Bell to send Zaleski across home plate from first base. Illinois State starter Josh Kauten got the first two WSU batters out in the bottom of the second, but a fielding error at third base by Jake Blair kept the inning alive for the Shockers and they capitalized by scoring six runs off of five hits, including two doubles and a triple.
With the score 9-3 after two innings, Illinois State went down 1-2-3 in the third and allowed two more runs to the Shockers in the bottom half of the inning off of four straight Wichita State hits again with two outs. Back-to-back singles by Lance McMillan and Blaesing to lead off the fourth inning brought some life back into the Redbird line-up. An RBI single up the middle by Chris Shepherd followed by a two-run homer to right-center by Pickrel cut the Shocker lead to four, 11-7. A Peacock solo shot to right field later in the inning, his first of the season, added another run to the board for the Birds and made the score 11-8 through four innings.
After a scoreless fifth inning, the Redbirds missed a golden opportunity to add some more runs to their rally attempt with runners at second and third with two outs and Peacock at the plate. However, Peacock was called out on strikes when third base umpire Bob Homolka called his check swing a strike for the final out of the side. In the bottom of the sixth, Wichita State got four runs off two singles, a throwing error by Accardo to first and a homer by Drew Moffitt to extend their lead to seven, 15-8.
Jay Molina crushed a solo homer to left field to lead off the seventh inning, but the Birds could not get any more in the side and stared a six-run deficit in the face, 15-9, heading into the eighth inning. Illinois State never threatened in the final two innings as Wichita State reliever Noah Booth came in and recorded four strikeouts in the final two frames.
Illinois State continues its season with a non-conference game against Eastern Illinois Tuesday, April 1, at Redbird Field. The game is slated for a 3 p.m. start.
