Jeremy Pickrel had a leadoff homerun and a triple, however Illinois State struggled through the day, as they fell to Butler 14-3 in Jacksonville, Florida at Harmon Stadium during the 2004 Kennel Club Classic.
Kyle Bloom (1-1) took the loss for Illinois State (3-6). He went six innings, allowing four runs and striking out eight.
It didnt take Illinois State long to get on the board, as leadoff hitter Jeremy Pickrel crushed a line drive over the left-center field fence for a leadoff homerun, his second in his last two at bats.
Butler (4-8) would crack the scoring column in the bottom half of the second, as they had three singles and received a pair of walks from Bloom, giving the Bulldogs a 2-1 lead after two.
After the first two Redbirds reached base in the top of the fifth, freshman Kitt Kopach doubled down the leftfield line to tie the game at five.
BU would again put a two-spot up in the bottom of the fifth, as they got a pair of singles and a double of Bloom, making it a 4-2 game.
The Bulldogs put up three more in the bottom of the seventh, as it would take three Redbird pitchers to get out of the inning after Bloom left. Illinois State pitchers would walk three and give up three hits in the inning. Josh Kauten came on to get out number three, recording a strikeout with the bases loaded.
The Redbirds would get one back in the top of the eight, on a Luke Baughman RBI to make the score 7-3, but things went downhill from there for ISU. Butler responded in the bottom of the eighth with seven runs, blowing the game open with an 11 run lead at 14-3.
The game with the Bulldogs concludes Illinois States spring trip. The Birds will be on the road again Wednesday, when they take on the Tigers of Missouri in Columbia, Missouri. Todd Stein is the probable starter, with the first pitch set for 4:00 pm at Taylor Stadium.
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