Redbirds' Hot Hitting Leads to 16-4 Win Over EKU

NORMAL, Ill. – The Illinois State baseball team tallied a season-high 19 hits en route to a 16-4 win over visiting Eastern Kentucky Saturday afternoon at Duffy Bass Field.

Shortstop Dennis Colon tallied a career-high four hits in the game, with two singles, a double, and a triple, to lead the Redbird bats. Colon became the first Redbird to collect four hits in a game this season with the performance.

Paul DeJong added three hits and a game-high four RBIs, while Mason Snyder, Jared Hendren, Daniel Dwyer, Joe Kelch and Brian Rodemoyer added two apiece. Hendren hit the first home run of his ISU career in the win, a two-run shot in the fifth inning.

The Redbirds' offensive surge came in support of starter Jacob Hendren, who pitched seven strong innings, allowing just three hits, three walks and one run, while striking out six.

Illinois State (10-10) was first on the scoreboard, as Snyder singled to left field to open the bottom of the second inning. Jared Hendren followed Snyder with a single up the middle, advancing the leadoff hitter to second, before Rodemoyer singled to left to score Snyder.  

ISU tallied four more runs in the bottom of a fourth inning that began with a Snyder walk. A Sean Beesley single advanced Snyder, and Kelch hit a double in the left-field gap to score both runners. Colon later recorded a two-out double that scored Kelch, and Dwyer reached on an error that scored the fourth run of the inning.

The Redbirds added two more to their total with Jared Hendren's two-run shot in the fifth, scoring Snyder, who had led off the inning with a single to left field.

Eastern Kentucky scored its first run of the game in the top of the sixth, as TJ Alas tripled to left center and scored on a Mandy Alvarez sacrifice fly. 

Illinois State matched a season high with nine runs in the bottom half of the frame, however, as Colon tripled to start the inning. Dwyer followed with a double to score Colon, and DeJong doubled to score Dwyer. Three consecutive walks to Ryan Koziol, Snyder and Jared Hendren scored Dwyer, and a fielder's choice from Beesley scored Koziol. Back-to-back singles from Rodemoyer and Colon tallied two more runs for the Redbirds, and a three-run, bases-clearing double from DeJong gave the Redbirds three more.

Eastern Kentucky's Brendan Cutting hit a three-run homer in the ninth inning to bring the game to its final score.

Jacob Hendren's strong outing marked the left-hander's fifth-straight quality start. Mitch Vogrin pitched a scoreless eighth before Craig Larkin finished out the game, giving up Cutting's home run in the ninth.

The Redbirds are back in action Sunday for the series finale with Eastern Kentucky. First pitch is scheduled for 12 p.m.

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