COOKEVILLE, Tenn. – A five-run third inning proved to be all the offense Illinois State would need in the finale of a three-game series at Tennessee Tech Sunday, as the Redbirds (3-3) tallied 17 hits on the day and picked up a 16-8 victory over the Golden Eagles (4-2) at Bush Stadium.
Tennessee Tech took an early 2-0 lead after the first inning, but the Redbirds exploded for those five runs in the top of the third to take a 5-2 lead. Joe Butler led off the inning with a double and advanced to third on a sacrifice bunt by Joe Aeilts. Butler then scored on a RBI groundout by Noah Sadler to plate the first run of the game for the Redbirds.
Owen Miller followed with a double and Collin Braithwaite walked to give ISU two runners on with two outs. A RBI double by Nick Zouras then plated Miller and advanced Braithwaite to third, as John Rave stepped to the plate. Rave proceeded to launch a three-run homerun over the left field wall to put the Redbirds up by three runs after the third.
ISU would tack on two more runs in the top of the fourth inning, as Ryan Hutchinson scored on a wild pitch after leading the inning off with a single, and Miller drove in Butler with a two-out RBI single to make the lead 7-2 in favor of ISU headed to the bottom of the fourth inning. TTU would get a run back in the bottom of the inning to make it 7-3, but the Redbird offense was not done yet.
After a scoreless fifth inning for both teams, Illinois State once again put up a crooked number in the top of the sixth inning with six runs. Miller and Braithwaite each drove in runs with RBI singles and Zouras walked to load the bases for Rave, who hammered a 3-1 pitch over the right field wall for a grand slam to put the Redbirds up 13-3 after the sixth. A three-run homerun by Sadler in the top half of the seventh inning later extended the ISU lead to 16-3.
Tennessee Tech added a run in the bottom of the seventh and four in the bottom of the eighth to cut the Illinois State lead in half at 16-8, but the Redbirds shut down the Golden Eagles in the ninth inning to come away with 16-8 win in the final game of the series.
ISU starter Matt Walker (1-0) picked up his first win of the season, tossing five innings and allowing three earned runs on four hits.
Rave finished the game 3-for-5 with the two homeruns and a career-best seven RBI to lead the way for the Redbirds on offense, while Miller added four hits with two runs scored and two RBI.
Illinois State faces off against another tough Ohio Valley Conference foe next weekend, when the Redbirds travel to Morehead, Kentucky, to face Morehead State in a three-game series beginning Friday at 2 p.m. Links for live stats and live audio will be available at GoRedbirds.com, and fans can also follow @RedbirdBaseball on Twitter for live updates and more throughout the weekend.
GoRedbirds.com: Your online source for Illinois State Athletics tickets, Weisbecker Scholarship Fund gifts, multimedia, Redbird merchandise, photos and more.
