MOREHEAD, Ken. – For the third game in a row and fifth time this season, Illinois State scored 10 runs or more as the Redbirds (4-3) powered their way to a 13-10 win in the opening contest of a three-game series at Morehead State (5-4) Friday at Allen Field.
The Redbirds slugged four home runs in the victory and recorded 11 hits to take the first game of the weekend set against the Eagles. Eight different ISU players recorded a hit, with Nick Zouras, Joe Aeilts and Collin Braithwaite each tallying two in the victory for the Redbirds. ISU starter Brady Huffman (1-2) picked up his first win of the season, as he allowed three runs (two earned) on five hits while striking out six Eagle hitters in six innings of work.
ISU jumped out to an early lead, as Noah Sadler led off the game with his third home run of the season. Zouras would later drive in Owen Miller on a RBI ground out to put the Redbirds up 2-0 after the top half of the first. However, the Eagles would answer with two runs of their own in the bottom half of the frame and added a run in the bottom of the third to take a 3-2 lead headed to the fourth inning.
Zouras would later tie the game in the fourth inning, coming home on a dropped fly ball to the outfield off the bat of Aeilts to make it 3-3 after four innings of play. ISU would then break the game open in the top of the fifth inning, scoring four runs on two hits while taking advantage of a couple Morehead State errors. Miller led off the inning being hit by a pitch and later scored when John Rave reached on a fielding error. Three batters later, Aeilts launched a three-run shot over wall in right centerfield to give ISU a 7-3 lead.
Miller would then homer in the top of the sixth inning to make the score 8-4, before the Redbird offensive tacked on four more runs in the seventh. Â Zouras score the first run of the frame on a RBI sacrifice fly by Ryan Hutchinson and Derek Parola would drive in three with a home run over the centerfield wall to make it 12-3 in favor of the Redbirds. Morehead State would get those four runs back in the bottom half of the inning though to cut the ISU lead to 12-7.
ISU scored its final run of the contest in the top of the eighth inning when Miller scored his fourth run of the game on a RBI fielder's choice by Zouras. Morehead State would score once in the bottom of the eighth and twice in the bottom of the ninth, but it was not enough as the Redbirds came away with the 13-10 victory.
Links for live stats, live audio and video for the remainder of the series at Morehead State 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.
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