NORMAL, Ill. – The Illinois State baseball team swept Central Michigan in the home opener at Duffy Bass Field Saturday afternoon. The Redbirds defeated the Chippewas 7-2 in game one and 5-4 in game two.
Redbird Performers Game 1
Top Hitters:
Pitching Breakdown:
- Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Brent Headrick (Starter): 6.0 IP, 5 Hits, 2 ER, 2 BB, 4 K's
- Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Mitch Vogrin: 1.0 IP, 2 Hits, 0 ER, 1 BB, 1 K
- Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Colton Johnson (W, 3-0): 2.0 IP, 4 Hits, 3 K's
Scoring Breakdown:
- The Redbirds got on the scoreboard first, as Joe Aeilts drove in John Rave on a sacrifice fly to give ISU a 1-0 lead after the first inning of play.
- Central Michigan knotted the game at 1-1 in the top of the second and the game stayed tied until the top of the fifth, when CMU took a 2-1 lead on a RBI single by Zach Heeke.
- Illinois State quickly tied the game in the bottom half of the fifth inning on a RBI double down the right field line that scored Derek Parola.
- Vogrin and Johnson got out of jams in the seventh and eighth inning to keep the game knotted at 2-2, before the Redbirds exploded for five runs in the bottom of the frame.
- Peterson drove in two on a double to right-center field to start the scoring and later scored on a RBI double by Aidan Huggins to make the score 5-2. Jordan Libman capped the scoring in game one with a RBI single up the middle that scored Huggins and Jack Butler to give the Redbirds a 7-2 victory.
Redbird Performers Game 2
Top Hitters:
Pitching Breakdown:
- Jeff Lindgren (Starter): 5.2 IP, 10 Hits, 4 Runs, 1 ER, 1 BB, 4 K's
- Jack Anderson (W, 1-0): 1.1 IP, 1 Hit
- Jacob Gilmore (Save, 5): 2.0 IP, 1 hit, 2 K's
Scoring Breakdown:
- Central Michigan scored three runs in the top of the first inning to jump ahead 3-0 over ISU in game two. The Redbirds responded with a run of their own in the bottom half of the inning when Libman grounded out to score Rave. CMU lead ISU 3-1 after the first inning.
- The Chippewas scored a run in the top of the second inning on a double to make the lead 4-1 over Illinois State.
- In the bottom of the fourth inning, Peterson hit a two-run home run to right field to cut the lead to 4-3.
- Parola grounded out in the bottom of the fifth inning that scored Rave to tie the game at four runs apiece.
- It was Parola again in the bottom of the seventh inning, as he singled to score Jeremy Gaines to put ISU ahead of CMU 5-4.
- Illinois State would hang on to defeat Central Michigan 5-4 in game two of the doubleheader.
Quote from Coach Holm on the bullpen in the doubleheader
"I think the key was having the bullpen lock it down today. Obviously in the two games, they went slightly over six innings of no runs, and when the other team doesn't score late you get a chance to chip away and that's what we did. The bullpen kept us in it. They grabbed the momentum, and they held it on their back."
Up Next:
Illinois State will play Central Michigan tomorrow in the series finale at Duffy Bass Field. First pitch for tomorrow is set for 1 p.m. For updates on Illinois State Baseball, follow the Redbirds on Twitter (@RedbirdBaseball) and Instagram (@isuredbirdbaseball).
GoRedbirds.com and the Illinois State Redbirds App: Your sources for Illinois State tickets, Weisbecker Scholarship Fund gifts, multimedia, Redbird merchandise, photos and more.
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