Box Score | Bo Durkac Postgame
NORMAL, Ill. – Bradley broke a 3-3 tie with two runs in the top of the eighth inning to send the Illinois State baseball team to its second loss in as many days Saturday at Duffy Bass Field. Bradley won Saturday's contest, 5-3.
The Braves scored two runs off a pair of Redbird relievers in the eighth to go ahead for good. The Braves had previously tied the game with three runs in the top of the sixth after Illinois State had shot out to a 3-0 lead with three runs in the bottom of the third.
Bradley's Spencer Gaa continued to play a key role in the series. After going 3-for-6 with a home run, two doubles and three RBIs Friday, Gaa went 3-for-4 with a triple and two RBIs Saturday.
Illinois State (14-30, 4-9 MVC) took control of the game in the third inning. Daniel Dwyer plated the game's first run with an RBI single up the middle that scored Derek Parola. Blake Molitor chased Dwyer home moments later with a sacrifice fly, just before a two-out single from Sean Beesley brought Owen Miller around to score. An error and a wild pitch aided in Illinois State's three-run third.
Bradley (23-16, 7-6) came back to tie the game, however, with three runs in the top of the sixth. Gaa provided the biggest hit in the inning – a two-run triple to right-center field – before Paul Solka evened the score with a run-scoring infield single.
The Braves went ahead two innings later. Tyler Leffler singled to score Luke Mangieri two batters before Evan Gruener doubled to right to score Gaa.
Illinois State had its best chance to respond in the bottom of the eighth, when Jared Hendren bunted Beesley and Jean Ramirez into scoring position with one out. But a groundout and a pop out got the Braves out of the inning unscathed. The Redbirds went down in order in the ninth.
No Redbirds collected multiple hits Saturday. Dwyer, Beesley and Ramirez each reached twice, with a single and a walk each.
Redbird starter David Meade went 6.1 innings Saturday, allowing three runs on five hits and a walk. He struck out five. Jack Czeszewski and Mitch Vogrin each allowed one run in the eighth inning. Jack Landwehr got the final out of the eighth and all three outs in the ninth. Czeszewski was saddled with the pitching loss.
Illinois State returns to Duffy Bass Field for Sunday's series finale, beginning at 1 p.m. Links for live video, audio and stats are available at GoRedbirds.com. Fans can also receive live updates by following @RedbirdBaseball on Twitter.
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