Nate Whitney went 4-for-8 on the day with a home run, triple, four runs scored and three RBI, as the Illinois State baseball team lost one (3-2) and won one (8-7) in the last inning respectively Saturday in its non-conference doubleheader with Ball State in Muncie, Ind.
Illinois States record goes to 12-21 overall, while Ball State now sits with an overall record of 25-11. The Redbirds tied their season-high mark for hits in a game with 17 knocks in the second contest. Illinois State came back from a 7-2 deficit to win the second game.
Coming back from being down 7-2 is a big accomplishment, especially after we dropped the first game and got whipped on Friday, said Illinois State head coach Jim Brownlee. There were two really good college baseball games played today. Our guys played good defense and had a lot of big hits in the second game.
In game one, another first-inning home run by Jon Peacock, his fifth of the season, put Illinois State up 2-0 after Nate Whitney was hit by a pitch to start the game. The Redbirds took the 2-0 lead into the sixth inning as the game turned into a pitchers duel with Illinois State starter Kyle Zaleski (4-2) holding the Cardinals to just three hits in the first five innings and allowing only two Ball State runners to reach second base.
Zaleski allowed three Cardinal hits in the bottom of the sixth, including a double down the left field line by Lucas Fry and an RBI single up the middle by Brad Snyder in the next at-bat, but with runners at first and second and one out, Zaleski battled back and got out the next two batters to fly out to centerfield to keep Ball State at bay, 2-1, heading into the seventh.
Illinois State went down 1-2-3 in the top of the seventh and Zaleski stayed on the mound for the Birds in the bottom of the inning. An infield hit to third base and a single to right-center put Cardinals at first and second with no outs. Zaleski threw the runner out at third when Jason Buchltz attempted a sac bunt to keep runners at first and second with one out. After hitting Ben Schroeder to load the bases, Fry hit a two RBI single down the left field line to end the game, 3-2.
Whitney led off game two with a triple to right-center and scored on a sac fly to left field by Peacock to go ahead 1-0. Blair hit an RBI single to left field that scored Jeremy Pickrel from second and put the Birds up 2-0 in the first inning, but Ball State jumped all over ISU starter Jeff Reyes in the bottom of the inning recording three straight hits, including a two-RBI double to left-center by Brad Snyder, to tie the game, 2-2.
Franz grounded into a 4-6-3 double play, but Snyder was able to score from third on the play and the Cardinals took a 3-2 advantage into the second inning. Four Ball State hits in the bottom of the third, including three doubles, allowed the Cardinals to plate four runs and extended their lead to five, 7-2.
After back-to-back hits by Greg Blaesing and Scott Bialobreski in the top of the fourth, Whitney smashed a homer to left field, his first of the season, to shave three runs off the Ball State lead, 7-5, after four innings of play. After scoreless fifth and sixth innings for both teams, Pickrel homered to right-center to open the seventh inning and bring the Birds to within a run, 7-6, through seven frames.
Whitney continued his impressive day in the top of the eighth when he led off with a single to right field and then stole second and advanced to third on a wild throw by Cardinal catcher Lucas Fry. With two outs, another throwing error by Fry on a Pickrel steal attempt sent Whitney home to tie the game, 7-7.
In the top of the ninth, Bialobreski hit a triple down the right field line with one out and Bob McNamara sent another shot down the line for an RBI single in the next at-bat to give the Redbirds the lead, 8-7, heading into the bottom of the ninth. ISU reliever Dave Macdonald (1-0) put the Cardinals down 1-2-3 in the bottom of the ninth to seal the 8-7 victory for the Birds.
Illinois State concludes its non-conference series with Ball State with a 1 p.m., nine-inning game Sunday.
