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NORMAL, Ill. – The Illinois State baseball team spotted Illinois Wesleyan three runs in the first inning but claimed the lead by the third inning and hung on in the end to win the battle of crosstown foes, 7-5, at Duffy Bass Field Wednesday afternoon.
Nick Zouras drove in four runs, and Mitch Weis and Jack Spicer led a quartet of Redbird pitchers, picking up the win and the save, respectively, to preserve the win for Illinois State.
Zouras went 2-for-4 with a pair of two-run hits, including a double. Weis, who was called on to start the second inning, tossed three scoreless frames, while Spicer pitched 2.1 scoreless innings and faced the minimum number of batters, thanks in part to a spectacular ninth-inning double play started after Owen Miller snagged a hard-hit grounder to shortstop.
Illinois Wesleyan (14-8) scored first Wednesday. Jacob Houghton drew a bases-loaded walk to get the Titans on the board, just moments before a two-run single from Stephen Billington gave the visitors a 3-0 lead.
The Redbirds got one run back in the bottom of the first on an RBI double from Collin Braithwaite. In the second, Zach Barnhart stole third base and scored on a throwing error. An RBI single from John Rave then tied the game as Derek Parola scored to make it 3-3 after two innings.
Illinois State (10-21) then grabbed the lead in the third with a two-run double from Zouras. The Redbirds doubled their lead, to 7-3, with a two more runs courtesy of Zouras in the fifth, when the sophomore catcher's single to left center allowed Joe Aeilts and Noah Sadler to score.
The Titans cut the lead in half with two runs in the seventh, on RBI singles from Houghton and Jonathan Broadbear, trimming the Illinois State lead to 7-5.
Neither team scored the rest of the way, thanks to 3.2 shutout innings from four IWU pitchers to end the game. Spicer did the same for the Redbirds, with 2.1 scoreless innings to earn the first save of his ISU career.
Redbird starter David Meade lasted just one inning after allowing three Titan runs in the first inning. But Weis took over from there with three scoreless frames, in which he limited IWU to one hit. Matt Walker followed with 2.2 innings on the mound, in which he allowed two runs on four hits and a pair of walks, before giving way to Spicer.
Joining Zouras with two hits in the game were Braithwaite and Aeilts.
The Illinois State baseball team returns to Duffy Bass Field for a three-game Missouri Valley Conference series with Evansville, beginning Friday at 6 p.m. All games will feature free admission, and links for live video, audio and stats are available at GoRedbirds.com. Fans can also 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.
