Box Score
CARBONDALE, Ill. – A second-inning grand slam from Southern Illinois' Connor Kopach gave the hosts all the offense they needed in a 5-0 shutout win over the visiting Illinois State baseball team Saturday at Itchy Jones Stadium.
Southern Illinois (25-26, 8-9 MVC) pitching took care of the rest as the Salukis held the Redbirds off the scoreboard Saturday. The shutout loss was Illinois State's second of the season.
Southern Illinois grabbed a commanding lead early with one swing of Kopach's bat. Starting with two outs, Logan Blackfan walked, Ryan Sabo singled and Dyllin Mucha was hit by a pitch to set the table for Kopach's grand slam over the right-field wall.
The Salukis added a run in the fourth when Mucha scored on a Redbird fielding error.
The best scoring opportunity for Illinois State (12-36, 1-16) came in the eighth when Joe Aeilts and Ryan Hutchinson walked to lead off the inning. John Rave then reached on a Southern Illinois error to load the bases. But a lineout, flyout and strikeout ended the inning with the Redbirds failing to score.
Derek Parola collected two of Illinois State's five hits Saturday. Aeilts and Hutchinson each reached base twice, with one hit and one walk apiece.
Redbird starter Matt Walker allowed five runs (four earned) on five hits and four walks over four innings. Mitch Weis followed with three near-perfect innings, as he allowed just two hits and no runs. He struck out three and walked none. Michael Sebby pitched a scoreless eighth.
The Redbirds return to Itchy Jones Stadium for the series finale Sunday at 1 p.m. Links for live stats and audio 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.
