Box Score
NORMAL, Ill. – An early lead was all Indiana State starting pitcher Will Kincanon needed as the visiting Sycamores earned a 15-4 win over the Illinois State baseball team in Missouri Valley Conference action Saturday at Duffy Bass Field.
Indiana State scored six runs over the first two innings and Kincanon struck out 10 over seven strong innings of work to give the Sycamores their second win over the Redbirds in as many days.
Four Indiana State players tallied three hits in the game, while just two Redbirds – Owen Miller and Derek Parola – registered multiple hits, as each player went 2-for-4 in Saturday's contest.
Indiana State (23-20, 9-5 MVC) started fast Saturday with four runs in the first inning, delivered via a Dane Tofteland RBI single, a two-run home run from Dane Giesler and a solo homer from Kyle Moore.
Illinois State (12-33, 1-12) got a run back in the bottom of the inning on Miller's sacrifice fly that scored Ryan Hutchinson. But the Sycamores answered in the top of the second with Giesler's second two-run homer in as many innings to give the visitors a 6-1 lead.
Indiana State added three more in the fourth, all with two outs. Moore first delivered a two-run double down the left-field line, just before Jeff Zahn plated Moore with a bloop single to center field.
Illinois State followed with a two-out rally in the bottom of the inning. Parola tripled off the right-field wall to score Collin Braithwaite, and later scored on Anthony Sanchez's single to left-center field.
The Sycamores put another crooked number on the scoreboard in the sixth, though. Moore started the rally with an RBI single to left field before Zahn provided a two-run home run down the right-field line – the Sycamores' fourth home run of the game – to make it a 12-3 lead.
The visitors added three more in the ninth, on a two-run double from Tyler Friis and a sacrifice fly from Tofteland. The Redbirds scored once more in the bottom of the inning, on a Miller RBI single, to conclude the scoring.
Redbird starter Jeffrey Barton was charged with six runs over three innings of work. Trevor Cross allowed five runs over the next 2.2 innings before giving way to Mitch Weis, who allowed three runs over 2.2 innings. Jack Bellinger allowed one run while getting the final two outs of the game.
The Redbirds return to Duffy Bass Field Sunday at 1 p.m. for the final game of their weekend series with Indiana State. Links live 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.
