Former Illinois State baseball student-athlete Ryan Court came through with a clutch game-tying solo home run in the bottom of the ninth inning for the Tacoma Rainiers (Triple-A affiliate of the Seattle Mariners), to help them pick up an extra-innings 5-4 victory over the Reno Aces on Sunday night.
Court's homer is his fifth in as many games played, making him the first Rainiers to go yard in five-straight contests since April 2016.
The Illinois State product has appeared in 760 Minor League games and hit for the cycle last season while he was with the Iowa Cubs on July 20.
There are 13 former Redbirds playing affiliated or independent professional baseball. They include:
Paul DeJong | MLB | St. Louis Cardinals
- Batting .254/.339/.435 with 20 doubles, 13 home runs, 37 RBI and 57 runs
- Went 1-for-4 with a RBI in Friday's 4-2 loss to the Arizona Diamondbacks (7/12)
Ryan Court | Triple-A | Tacoma Rainiers (Seattle Mariners)
- Slashing .302/.389/.635 for the Rainiers with 16 extra-base hits, 31 RBI and 23 runs in 96 at-bats
- Went 2-for-4 with a home run in a 5-4 win over the Reno Aces on Sunday night (7/14)
- Court's solo home run is his fifth in as many games played, making him the first Rainiers to homer in five-straight contests since April 2016
Jeremy Rhoades | Triple-A | Salt Lake Bees (Los Angeles Angels)
- Owns a 2-1 record with four saves, posting a 6.25 ERA in 28 appearances spanning 40.1 innings
- Most recently pitched a scoreless and hitless 1.1 innings in relief in Salt Lake's 13-9 loss to the Las Vegas Aviators on Saturday (7/13)
Brock Stewart | Triple-A | Oklahoma City Dodgers (Los Angeles Dodgers)
- Currently 3-7 with a 8.10 ERA in 13 starts with 52 strikeouts and 30 walks spanning 60.0 innings
- Picked up the winning decision on Friday, pitching 5.0 innings while striking out five and allowing only one run in the 6-3 win over the Memphis Redbirds (7/12)
Eric Aguilera | Triple-A, Mexican League | Tigres de Quintana Roo
- Batting .303/.368/.529 with 20 doubles, 13 home runs, 39 RBI and 59 runs on the season
- Went 1-for-4 with a double, scoring two runs in Quintana Roo's 13-3 victory over Laguna (7/13)
Owen Miller | Double-A | Amarillo Sod Poodles (San Diego Padres)
- Slashing .302/.363/.428 with 17 doubles, eight home runs, 45 RBI, and 46 runs
- Went 2-for-4 with a double and a run scored in Sunday's 10-6 win over the Frisco RoughRiders (7/14)
Jeff Lindgren | Class A Advanced | Jupiter Hammerheads (Miami Marlins)
- Promoted to Class A Advanced Jupiter Hammerheads on July 3
- Currently 1-1 on the season, with a 0.00 ERA and 10 strikeouts in 10.0 innings pitched while allowing only one run
- Closed out the game on Friday, pitching 2.0 innings while allowing one hit and adding a strikeout in Jupiter's 10-6 loss to Palm Beach (7/12)
John Rave | Class A | Lexington Legends (Kansas City Royals)
- Promoted to Class A Lexington Legends on July 7
- Batting .189/.348/.257 with two doubles, six RBI and 14 runs in 20 total games this season
- Went 1-for-4 with a RBI and a run in Saturday's 6-2 loss to the Greenville Drive (7/13)
Joe Aeilts | Class A Short Season | Boise Hawks (Colorado Rockies)
- Batting .453/.507/.578 with seven RBI and 11 runs in 18 games
- Aeilts has 10 hits in his last 13 at-bats and is 6-for-9 since returning from injury
- Went 1-for-3 with a double in Sunday's 6-0 loss to the Eugene Emeralds (7/14)
Matt Walker | Class A Short Season | Connecticut Tigers (Detroit Tigers)
- Picked up a loss in his first professional appearance on June 26 against the Vermont Lake Monsters, striking out two and allowing three hits in 0.2 innings pitched (6/26)
Brent Headrick | Rookie Advanced | Elizabethton Twins (Minnesota Twins)
- Has not played yet this season.
Ryan Koziol | Frontier League | Joliet Slammers
- Currently 3-2 with 12 saves and a team-best 1.30 ERA in 23 appearances spanning 27.2 innings pitched
- Pitched a scoreless inning in relief on Sunday in a 5-1 Win over the Southern Illinois Miners (7/14)
Jack Landwehr | Frontier League | Schaumburg Boomers
- Started in three games this season and owns a 2.50 ERA spanning 18.0 innings
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