April 30, 2008
Final Stats
NORMAL, Ill. -
The Illinois State baseball team tied its season-high with 17 hits, led by a career-high four hits from freshman Ronnie Calvird, but the `Birds surrendered eight runs in the third inning and fell, 16-8, to Saint Louis in a non-conference game Wednesday afternoon at Duffy Bass Field.
The Redbirds (19-23) out-hit the Billikens, 17-15, but left a season-high 14 runners on base. Illinois State had five players record two-plus hits, as junior Kevin Dubler batted 2-for-5 with two extra-base hits (double, triple) and three RBI, while freshman Kevin Tokarski went 3-for-5 with two runs scored. Senior Kyle Cherney (3-for-4, RBI) tied his career-high with three hits, while sophomore Anthony Ruffolo (3-for-5, RBI) tallied a career-high three hits, including his first-career triple.
Freshman Ben Hays (1-3) suffered the loss, as the right-hander last only 2.2 innings. Hays surrendered a career-high nine runs on four hits while walking five and striking out two. Redshirt freshman Christopher Newsome was the lone bright spot in the Redbird bullpen, as the right-hander threw 2.1 innings and allowed two runs on two hits in his first-career appearance. Junior Mike Stalowy, who ended his hitting streak at 12 games with a 0-for-5 outing, also saw his first-career action on the mound.
"I thought that today (Wednesday) was a good day to pitch, but the ball finds the guy that isn't ready to go," said head coach Jim Brownlee. "The third inning was a nightmare; we had two outs and our guys weren't able to throw strikes. We weren't going to use anyone from the bullpen that we want to use this weekend, so it just got away from us. We had 17 hits, but we had a lot of chances to drive guys in and weren't able to get the job done. We didn't get any timely hitting, and you have to out-score them because it was a typical midweek game. Timely hitting is something that we have lacked all season."
After the Billikens scored a run in the top of the first inning, the Redbirds came back and tied the game at 1-1. Tokarski led off the bottom of the first with a walk and moved into scoring position when he stole his 31st bag of the season, while Ruffolo knocked him in on a single to centerfield. But that would be the closest the Redbirds would get all day, as SLU came up in the top of the third and scored eight runs on only three hits, as the Billikens scored seven of the runs with two outs. Hays was forced out of the game after he put five runners on base via three walks and two hit batters. Freshman Matt Werderitch game into the game and did not fare much better, as he gave up a single and put two runners on via a walk and a hit batter.
The Redbirds came back and put four runs on the board in the bottom of the fourth, as Calvird led off the frame with a single to left field. Sophomore Dan Weston walked and Tokarski singled to load the bases with only one out. Stalowy plated Calvird on a sacrifice fly to centerfield, while Dubler roped a triple to left field to cut the deficit to 11-5. The Billikens added a run in both the fifth and sixth innings, but the `Birds scored two in the bottom of the seventh on a RBI groundout from junior Justin Rahn and a bases-loaded walk from Dubler.
The Redbirds plated their final run in the bottom of the eighth, after Cherney, Calvird and senior Kevin Konsler recorded three-straight singles and Rahn plated Cherney on a groundout.
The Redbirds will face I-74 rival Bradley in a pivotal Missouri Valley Conference series, beginning Friday. First pitch is slated for 6 p.m. at Duffy Bass Fieled.
