Chris Frank broke up a no-hitter by Wichita State starter Mike Pelfrey with a one-out single in the ninth, however Illinois State did not have an answer for Pelfrey, as the 6-7 fire-baller nearly recorded a no-hitter in a 5-0 Wichita State victory Friday night at Eck Stadium in front of 3,487 fans.
Pelfrey (5-2) dominated throughout the game, as he had faced the minimum number of batters after six innings of play. The right-handed junior had 10 strikeouts, four walks and also hit one batter in addition to allowing the lone hit by Frank.
Pelfrey is regarded by many as the top amateur pitcher in high school or collegiate baseball and is expected to be one of the first picks, possibly the first overall pick, in the 2005 Major League Baseball Amateur draft this June.
Taking the loss for Illinois State (12-16, 0-4) was senior Matt Fowles. Despite taking the loss, Fowles (3-2) pitched very well, scattering 10 hits over 7.1 innings and allowing only three runs in the game.
Wichita State (25-10, 2-2) was able to get on the board first as they put together back to back doubles followed by consecutive singles to bring two runs home in the bottom of the third, taking a 2-0 lead. Phil Napolitan and Nick McCoola each had a RBI in the inning.
McCoola would then hit a sac fly in the fifth to drive in his second run and give the Shocks a 3-0 lead.
The Shockers would finish the scoring off in the eighth as Quin Vinze hit a two-out two-run homerun off of Redbird reliever Kitt Kopach to make it a 5-0 game.
ISU and Wichita State will continue their three-game Missouri Valley Conference series Saturday Dan Frega (2-5) will make the start for the 'Birds. He will be opposed by Wichita's Jereme Foster (3-1), as first pitch will be at 2:00 p.m. from Eck Stadium in Wichita.
