Normal, Ill. In what is becoming a common occurrence with the Illinois State baseball team, the Redbirds rallied for five ninth inning runs, including four with two out, and defeated Indiana State 7-6 Friday night at Redbird Field. Kris Jenkins had a bases loaded triple to give the Redbirds their fifth walk-off win in their last 14 games.
The win moves Illinois State (22-22, 6-10) to the .500 mark for the first time since they were 9-9 on March 24. The Redbirds have now won 10 of their last 14 games and are currently in seventh place in the Missouri Valley Conference, but only two games out of fourth place.
Picking up the win for the Redbirds was senior Matt Fowles (4-4), who pitched 2.2 innings of relief in the game. Fowles allowed only two hits and struck out one while holding the Sycamores at bay for the final portion of the game. Ned Schauff made the start for ISU and received a no-decision. The left-hander went 6.1 innings and gave up four earned runs with five strikeouts.
Taking the loss for Indiana State (25-20, 8-8) was Brad Collins (1-2). The right-hander suffered a meltdown in the ninth, as he allowed three earned runs on two hits in 0.2 innings pitched. He also walked two batters and hit one in his outing. Freshman Ryan Tatusko was stellar in the start for Indiana State. The right-hander dominated the Redbirds for eight innings of the game, as he allowed only four hits but four earned runs in the game.
The Redbirds started off the first inning with a single by Jenkins. After Matt Bolt was hit by a pitch and Jenkins stole third, Ryan Anetsberger brought in the first run with a sacrifice fly to right field, giving Illinois State a 1-0 lead.
Ryan Bond would quickly tie the game at one in the top of the second as he crushed a solo homer to left-centerfield in the top of the second.
The Sycamores would add three more runs in the fourth as the first four batters of the inning would reach base. Ryan Eigsti led the inning off with a double and Bond reached on an error by Schauff, who threw low to first on Bond's bunt attempt. Nevin Ashley then brought in two runs with a triple to centerfield and Cory Kral followed with an RBI single, giving Indiana State a 4-1 lead after the top of the fourth.
Illinois State's first four batters in the sixth would all reach base, however the 'Birds would only score once in the inning. Jenkins reached on an error to start the inning and Bolt, Anetsberger and Nick Crist would all follow with singles. Jenkins was thrown out at third attempting to steal just before Anetsberger's RBI single, possibly costing ISU a run. Later in the inning, with Anetsberger on third, Jay Molina fouled out to medium depth rightfield and Anetsberger attempted to tag and score from third, however Sycamore right fielder Tim Brewer gunned down Anetsberger at home for the third out of the inning, making it a 4-2 game after six innings.
Indiana State would extend its lead to 6-2 in the top of the seventh after Eigsti had an RBI double and Bond had an RBI single.
But much like they have done over the last three weeks, the Redbirds would not go quietly in the bottom of the ninth as they would load the bases with nobody out to knock out Tatusko. Chris Frank hit a hard ground ball that seemed destined for centerfield, however Eigsti made a diving play at short to start a 6-4-3 double play, allowing ISU to only score one run. With two outs, pinch-hitter Joe Burke drew a walk and Kyle O'Brien followed with a single to left to cut the score to 6-4. Blake Schoonover would walk on a 3-2 pitch to load the bases again with the score still at 6-4 with two outs. Jenkins, who finished 2-5, then smacked a 2-1 offering from Collins all the way to the leftfield wall, clearing the bases and sending the entire Redbird dugout onto the field to celebrate the 7-6 walk-off win
The two teams will play the second game of their three-game series on Saturday at Redbird Field, with the first pitch set for 2 p.m. Illinois State will send sophomore Eric Theisen (4-0) to the mound to make his 20th appearance of the season, but only his first start. The game can be heard on www.wjbc2.com and live stats will be available on Gametracker, which can be accessed at www.redbirds.org.
