Box Score
DALLAS – A six-run seventh inning helped Dallas Baptist break a 2-2 tie and lifted the Patriots to a 10-2 win and a three-game sweep of Illinois State Saturday at Horner Ballpark.
Dallas Baptist, which swept both games of a doubleheader Friday, collected half of its hits (6-of-12) in the seventh inning Saturday. The Patriots overcame Illinois State leads in all three games of the weekend series.
Illinois State (7-18, 0-3 MVC) grabbed an early advantage with an RBI single from Collin Braithwaite in the third inning, but Dallas Baptist (18-9, 3-0) tied it on Matt Duce's solo home run in the fourth and took the lead on Logan Sepanek's solo shot in the fifth.
The Redbirds knotted things back up in the sixth when Joe Aeilts provided a two-out infield single that plated Bryce Grimm and tied the game at 2-2.
But the hosts used a big sixth inning to take control of the game. Back-to-back RBI doubles from Jameson Hannah and Tim Millard started the rally. A two-run single up the middle from Duce kept it going, and Sepanek capped the big inning with a single to right field that scored two runs, the second coming in after a Redbird error.
The Patriots added a pair of insurance runs in the eighth, when an RBI groundout from Duce was followed by a bases-loaded hit by pitch drawn by Sepanek.
John Rave and Braithwaite tallied three hits apiece for the Redbirds, accounting for more than half (6-of-11) of the team's hits.
Redbird starter Brent Headrick allowed just two runs over 4.2 innings of work. Jeffrey Barton and Mitch Vogrin were charged with three runs each – all scored during DBU's seventh inning – before David Meade finished out the game. Meade allowed two runs over two innings of work.
The Redbirds return to Duffy Bass Field Tuesday to host Valparaiso at 4:30 p.m. Links for live video, audio and stats are available at GoRedbirds.com, and fans can follow @RedbirdBaseball on Twitter for live updates and more.
GoRedbirds.com: Your online source for Illinois State Athletics tickets, Weisbecker Scholarship Fund gifts, multimedia, Redbird merchandise, photos and more.
