Redbirds Sweep Sunday Doubleheader At Arkansas State; Take Series 2-1

JONESBORO, Ark. – After dropping a well-pitched, 1-0 decision to Arkansas State Friday and postponing Saturday's scheduled contest due to rain, the Illinois State baseball team (2-1) bounced back and won both games of a doubleheader Sunday at Arkansas State against the Red Wolves (1-2) at Tomlinson Stadium to win the three-game series.

Game 1 Recap
Illinois State trailed 2-0 after the first inning, but got one of those runs back in the top of the third. Ryan Hutchinson doubled down the left field line to start the inning and later scored on a Joe Butler single for the Redbirds' first run of the game. The Red Wolves answered with a run of their own in the bottom half of the inning and took a 3-1 lead into the fourth.

That's when the Redbird bats exploded, as Derek Parola drove in Collin Braithwaite for the first run of the inning and Noah Sadler hit the first home run of the season for ISU, a three-run shot that gave the Redbirds a 5-3 lead. A one-out, two-run double by Nick Zouras in the top of the fifth inning extended the Redbird lead to 7-3 halfway through the contest. A RBI double by Parola and a RBI single by Sadler in the top half of the seventh ballooned the ISU lead to 9-3, before a five-run eighth inning made it 14-3 in favor of the Redbirds.

Joe Aielts led off the inning with a solo home run and Zouras would later add a two-out RBI single to plate the second run of the inning for the Redbirds. Parola then drove in another run in the next at-bat and Hutchinson would later cap off the scoring barrage with a two-run single through the left side of the infield. It would only get better for the 'Birds in the top of the ninth inning, as Parola drove in two more with a double and Sadler recorded a pair of RBI with a single to left field to bring the score to its final at 18-3.

Brent Headrick (1-0) picked up the win on the mound for Illinois State, as he allowed just three runs on four hits in five innings of work. Jeff Lindgren pitched a scoreless sixth inning, Kyle Pauly tossed two scoreless frames and Rhett Rapshus wrapped up the game with a perfect ninth inning. Sadler finished the game 3-for-6 with a run scored and six RBI, while Parola went 5-for-6 with three runs scored and five RBI. Zouras was also stellar, going 4-for-6 with three RBI and three runs scored for ISU.

The 18 runs scored by the Redbirds were their most since scoring 23 in a win over Belmont on Feb. 20, 2016.

Game 2 Recap
The Redbird offensive attack picked up right where it left off in game one at the start of game two, as the 'Birds plated a pair of runs in the top of the first inning off ASU starter Peyton Culbertson (0-1). A one-out RBI double by Sadler was followed by a RBI single off the bat of Braithwaite to make it 2-0 early, but the Red Wolves trimmed that lead in half with a run of their own in the bottom half of the frame to make it 2-1. 

ISU added an unearned run off a RBI groundout by John Rave in the top of the second inning to make it 3-1, but once again the Red Wolves would answer with a run in the bottom of the third to cut the Redbird lead to 3-2. However, the Redbirds would fire right back with three runs in the top of the fourth, on a RBI single by Joe Butler and a two-run, two-out single off the bat of Owen Miller to make the ISU lead 6-2. 

After a scoreless fifth inning by both squads, Illinois State would tack on two more runs in the top of the sixth inning on a RBI double by Sadler and a RBI single to left field by Braithwaite to widen its advantage to 8-2. ASU pushed a run across in the bottom half of the frame and another in the bottom of the eighth to make it 8-4, but three runs in the top of the ninth by the Redbirds would put the game away. Aielts drove in Zouras and Hutchinson with a triple to left-center field and Butler would push across the final run of the game for the Redbirds on a RBI groundout to complete the double-header sweep with the 11-4 victory. 

Colton Johnson (1-0) picked up the win in relief of starter Matt Walker, as he allowed just one unearned run on one hit while striking out three ASU batters in three innings of work. Miller led the way for the Redbirds offensively, going 3-for-6 with two RBI and two runs scored, while Sadler, Braithwaite, Aielts and Butler each added two hits and two RBIs apiece for ISU in the victory.

Illinois State returns to action next weekend, when it travels to Cookeville, Tenn., for a three-game series at Tennessee Tech beginning Friday at 3 p.m. The Redbirds will then take the field Saturday at 2 p.m. for the second game of the three-game tilt, before wrapping up the weekend on Sunday at 1 p.m.

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