In the first ever meeting between Illinois State and Stetson on the baseball diamond, the Redbirds couldnt get the offense on track, as they dropped the season opener 7-2 in front of 1,083 fans at Melching Field in DeLand, Fla.
Illinois State only managed four hits in the game and no Redbird had more than one hit.
Kitt Kopach (0-1) went 4.2 innings for the Redbirds, allowing four hits and three earned runs to go with one strikeout in the loss. Stetson starter Ryan Dixon (2-0) picked up the win for the Hatters, as he went 5.2 innings and gave up three hits while striking out two.
Kopach struggled with his control early, as he walked three of the first four batters in the first inning, but thanks to some stellar defense, the Birds got out of the inning yielding only two runs. With the bases loaded and nobody out, Kopach induced a 1-2-3 double play for the first two outs. Then with runners on second and third, John Destefano singled to right, but Matt Bolt came up throwing and nailed the Stetson runner at the plate, leaving the score 2-0 in favor of Stetson after one.
After an RBI double by Hatter third baseman Braedyn Pruitt in the bottom of the third inning made it 3-0, the Birds finally got on the board in the top of the fourth, as Jay Molina doubled in Bolt. Joe Burke followed that with a single of his own, driving in Molina and making the score 3-2 after the top half of the fourth.
Stetson would respond in the bottom of the sixth, as they got two runs off of reliever Josh Eidt to take a 5-2 lead into the seventh, where they would add two more to build a five-run advantage at 7-2.
The two teams will play their second game tomorrow as senior Ned Schauff will make the start for Illinois State, while Stetson will counter with sophomore Nathan Nery. First pitch is set for 1:00 p.m. CST at Melching Field. Fans wishing to follow along with the game on-line can go to the baseball schedule on www.redbirds.org , where there is a link to the Stetson radio broadcast. Due to technical difficulties, live stats will not be available this weekend.
