BLOOMINGTON, Ill. - Will Headean struck out a career-high 13 batters to guide Illinois State (25-12, 7-5 MVC) to a non-conference victory over Illinois Wesleyan (16-14) Tuesday night in the annual Horenberger-Bass Classic. The Redbirds are now 85-70 all-time versus the Titans, in a rivalry that dates back to 1890.
Headean (3-1) cruised to his second-consecutive victory behind the most dominant performance of his Redbird career. The sophomore surrendered only one hit, walked zero and retired the final 19 batters he faced. The only blemish to his night was a two-out single in the first inning. Ben Hecht allowed one run over the final two innings to secure the win. Kyle Snedeker (1-2) allowed three runs, two earned, in three innings for the defeat.
Mike Hollenbeck got Illinois State on the board with a sacrifice-fly in the first inning. Back-to-back run-scoring knocks from Paul DeJong and Hollenbeck in the third inning made it a 3-0 Redbird advantage.
Brock Stewart's sacrifice-fly in the fourth inning give ISU a 4-0 lead. Brian Rodemoyer opened the seventh inning with his third home run of the season. Jack Czeszewski's two-run single later in the inning capped the Redbird scoring.
Headean struck out the first two batters of the game before Bobby Czarnowski bounced a two-out single to center field for the first Titans hit. Headean then retired every batter he faced the rest of the night, a span of six-consecutive perfect innings. Headean struck out the side twice and tallied two-strikeout innings three separate times. The victory marked the fifth-career win for the Morton, Ill., product.
Illinois State returns to action Wednesday afternoon versus NCAA Division-III opponent MacMurray. First pitch is set for 3:00 p.m. at Duffy Bass Field and the contest opens a five-game home stand for the Redbirds.
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