Redbirds Hang On to Victory in Series Opener at DBU, 9-8

DALLAS, Texas. – Illinois State defeated Dallas Baptist, 9-8 in the series opener Friday evening at Horner Ballpark. The Patriots scored three runs in the ninth inning, and had the tying run at third base before the Redbirds closed out the victory. The 'Birds improve to 27-15, 9-1 MVC.

Top Hitters

• John Rave: 1-for-4, HR, 3 RBI, 1 Run
• Joe Butler: 2-for-5, 2 RBI, 2 Runs
• Derek Parola: 1-for-4, 2B, 2 RBIs, 1 Run

Pitching Breakdown:

• Brent Headrick (W, 5-3, Starter): 6.0 IP, 3 Hits, 3 Runs, 1 ER, 2 BB, 11 K's
• Colton Johnson: 2.0 IP, 2 Hits, 4 Runs, 4 ER, 3 BB, 4 K's
• Jacob Gilmore: 1.0 IP, 2 Hits, 1 Run, 1 ER, 0 BB, 2 K's

Quote from Coach Holm on the importance of winning at DBU
"This is a tough place to play. The way the park plays you are never out of a game. Our guys stayed tough and confident even when it looked like DBU had the momentum."

Scoring Breakdown:

• Illinois State scored first in the top half of the fourth inning when Jack Butler singled through the left side to bring home Gunner Peterson to put ISU up 1-0. Rave would walk to bring home Nick Zouras. Then, Parola doubled to score Butler and Aidan Huggins. Jordan Libman would cap off the inning with a single to score Parola to make the score 5-0. The Patriots responded with two runs in the home half of the inning to make the score 5-2 after four innings.
• Jack Butler would start the scoring again in the fifth inning, as he singled to bring Joe Butler. Huggins singled to right field to bring home Zouras. Rave would later groundout to the shortstop to bring home Jack Butler. ISU led DBU 8-2. The Patriots singled in the home half of the inning to make the score 8-3 after five innings.
• Dallas Baptist scored on a two-run single in the seventh inning to trim the lead to 8-5.
• Rave homered in the top half of the eighth inning to extend the Redbirds lead to 9-5.
• Dallas Baptist would score three runs in the bottom of the ninth inning to cut the lead to 9-8. However, Gilmore would strike out the final batter of the evening with the tying run on third base for his 10th save of the season.

Up Next:
The Redbirds return to action tomorrow for game two of the series with the first pitch slated for 2 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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