Jeremy Pickrel hit what proved to be the game-winning homer and Kyle Bloom picked up his sixth win, as Illinois State defeated Bradley 5-4 Wednesday night at Redbird Field. The win keeps the Redbirds conference tourney hopes alive as they enter the final three games of the season. ISU has now won 11 of the last 13 against the Braves.
With the win, Illinois State (20-32, 10-19) moves into eighth place, only a game out of seventh and two games out of fifth, as Evansville and Indiana State are tied for fifth place in the league.
Bloom (6-6) went 7 2/3 innings in the win for Illinois State. The left-handed junior allowed only four hits and two earned runs while striking out eight. Josh Kauten came on to pitch the final 1 1/3 innings to pick up his second save in as many opportunities on the year. Kauten struck out the side in the ninth.
Michael Christl (3-5) took the loss for Bradley, throwing all eight innings.
Bloom was dominant early, as he had five strikeouts over the first two innings and held Bradley scoreless until the fifth. With a runner on second, Joe Napoli singled to drive in the first run of the game, giving the Braves a 1-0 lead after the top of the fifth.
Illinois State would answer back in a large way in bottom half of the fifth, as the first six batters got hits, including a two-RBI double by Matt Bolt with the bases loaded. Jay Molina followed Bolts double with one of his own to drive in a run and Nick Crist singled in Bolt to make it 4-1 Birds after five.
After Bradley (27-25-1, 9-19-1) got one run back in the top of the sixth, Pickrel stepped up to the plate for the first time since injuring his knee on May 8th at SMS. Marred in an 0-16 slump, Pickrel put an abrupt end to his struggles, hitting his team-leading 11th home run of the season to leftfield to give ISU a 5-2 lead after six.
The Braves would get two back in the top of the eighth, as Paul Rice and Rene Aqueron hit back-to-back RBI singles to draw BU within one at 5-4. But Kauten was untouchable in the ninth, preserving the 5-4 win for Illinois State.
The Birds and Braves will resume their series Friday afternoon at Redbird Field when they play a doubleheader beginning at 3:00 p.m. Todd Stein (4-5) and Eric Theisen (4-5) will make starts for Illinois State. Gametracker will be available to follow along with the action.
