TERRE HAUTE, Ind. - Making his first-collegiate start at pitcher, Brock Stewart struck out a career-high eight to propel #5 Illinois State (33-21) to a 6-1 victory over #4 Wichita State (31-28) Thursday night at Bob Warn Field. The victory advances the Redbirds to the Missouri Valley Conference Championship title game for the second-consecutive season. The Redbirds will now play either #3 Dallas Baptist or #6 Missouri State Saturday night at 8:07 p.m. EDT, with the winner receiving an automatic bid to a NCAA Regional.
Stewart (3-2), who was making his 10 pitching appearance this season, worked a career-high seven innings and allowed one run on two hits with only one walk to earn the victory. Jeremy Rhoades pitched two scoreless innings with three strikeouts in relief. Wichita State starter Kris Gardner (2-5) was chased from the game in the third inning and suffered the defeat. He surrendered four runs, three earned, on four hits and walked three.
The Redbirds out-hit Wichita State 12-2 and defeated the Shockers for the second time this week. Daniel Dwyer cracked three hits and was hit by a pitch, Logan Leverett added two hits and one RBI and Dennis Colon knocked a two-run single.
Illinois State took the lead for good in the top of the second inning. Leverett ripped his first-collegiate triple off the wall in right-center field and scored on a throwing error from Shockers catcher Tyler Baker. Illinois State would lead for the rest of the game.
Jack Czeszewski opened the game with an opposite-field single and scored on a groundball out from Paul DeJong to give Illinois State a 1-0 lead in the first inning. The Shockers used a two-out rally to tie the game in the bottom of the first inning. Daniel Kihle's single scored Casey Gillaspie to make it a 1-1 game.
Leverett drew a bases-loaded walk in the third inning and Joe Kelch knocked a run-scoring single to make it 4-1 Illinois State.
Stewart settled into a groove on the mound after the first inning. He retired 11-consecutive batters at one point and added multi-strikeout innings in the second, third and fifth innings.
Mason Snyder and Leverett opened the eighth inning with back-to-back singles and scored two batters later on Colon's two-run single.
Rhoades fired a perfect ninth inning to end the game.
The Redbirds cruised through the "A Bracket" of the Missouri Valley Conference Championship with a 3-0 record, outscoring opponents 18-2 along the way.
GoRedbirds.com: Your online source for Illinois State Athletics, tickets, Weisbecker Scholarship Fund gifts, multimedia, Redbird merchandise, photos and more.
