NORMAL, Ill. – Second-year freshman Jordan Lussier and third-year sophomore Derek Salata recorded a combined shutout for the Illinois State baseball team in a 5-0 victory over No. 25 Indiana State on Saturday at Duffy Bass Field.
Lussier fired seven innings to get his fourth win of 2021 for Illinois State (12-17 overall, 4-3 Missouri Valley Conference) while Salata recorded a pair of clean innings for his fifth save of 2021.
Third-year sophomore Hayden Jones was 3-for-4 with three extra base hits (two 2B, one HR) and three RBI. Second-year freshman Ryan Cermak added three hits and two runs scored while fourth-year junior Tyson Hays chipped in two hits.
Indiana State (15-8 overall, 2-1 MVC) recorded six hits on the day.
HOW IT HAPPENED
An RBI double from Jones and RBI groundout by fourth-year Nick Gile put the 'Birds up 2-0 after two innings.
A line shot through the left side by Cermak pushed to Illinois State lead to 3-0 in the 5th inning.
Jones capped the scoring with a two-run 400-foot home run into a crosswind in the 8th inning.
The Sycamores stranded nine runners in the game.
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
- First shutout by the Redbirds since 5/10/2019 over Bradley.
- A pair of on-base streaks were extended: Cermak extended his to 20 games and Libman's moved to 18 games.
- Salata now has scoreless outings in eight of his last nine appearances.
- Jones joins Cermak as 'Birds with three extra-base hits in a game in 2021 (Cermak three XBH vs SEMO on 2/23)
- Jones is the only Redbird this century to record three extra-base hits against a ranked opponent in a single game. He is also the third Redbird this century with eight-plus total bases against a ranked opponent.
UP NEXT
Illinois State will look to salvage a series split against No. 25 Indiana State with a 1:00 p.m. CT match-up on Sunday.
For the latest updates on Illinois State Baseball, stay tuned at GoRedbirds.com, follow the Redbirds on Twitter (@RedbirdBaseball) and Instagram (isuredbirdbaseball), and like the team on Facebook (Illinois State Baseball).
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