WICHITA, Kan. – Wichita State's Sam Hilliard hit a go-ahead three-run home run in the bottom of the eighth inning to propel the tournament hosts to a 4-3 win in an MVC Tournament opening-round game at Eck Stadium Wednesday night.
Hilliard's home run came just a half inning after the Redbirds scored two runs to take the lead and just one pitch after Redbird starter Jacob Hendren exited the game. Hilliard hit ISU reliever Jack Czeszewski's first offering over the right-field fence to give the Shockers their first lead of the game, and the Redbirds went down in order in the ninth.
Illinois State, the No. 5 seed in the tournament, will now play No. 8 Southern Illinois in an elimination game Thursday at 12:30 p.m.
"It was a really frustrating game," said Illinois State head coach Bo Durkac. "Jacob was really starting to labor there in the eighth inning … and I felt like after throwing deep into a game just five days ago, we needed to go to Jack, and it just didn't work out tonight, unfortunately."
The Redbirds (27-26) grabbed an early lead when Mason Snyder provided a two-out single to left field in the first inning, plating Daniel Dwyer, who had led off the game with an infield single.
Hendren kept the Redbirds out front, posting four scoreless innings before the Shockers scored an unearned run in the fifth inning when a ball got past Snyder at first base. Snyder's error allowed Mikel Mucha to come around and score and tie the game.
The score remained tied until the top of the eighth inning, when Ryan Koziol provided the Redbirds' biggest hit of the game, a two-out, two-run single up the middle to score Dwyer and Jean Ramirez.
Wichita State (25-31) made a dramatic comeback in the eighth inning, however, as Trey Vickers singled and Daniel Kihle walked to chase Hendren and set up Hilliard's game-winning home run.
Hendren allowed three runs (two earned) on six hits and one walk over 7.2 innings of work, striking out seven. Dwyer and Snyder led the Redbirds with two hits apiece.
GoRedbirds.com: Your online source for Illinois State Athletics tickets, Weisbecker Scholarship Fund gifts, multimedia, Redbird merchandise, photos and more.
