NORMAL, Ill. – The Illinois State baseball team blasted five home runs in Friday's 15-7 win against Saint Louis at Duffy Bass Field.
Fifth-year senior Nick Gile and fifth-year senior Jake McCaw each hit two home runs apiece while second-year freshman Jonathan Sabotnik hit his first career home run in a three-hit outing.
Fourth-year junior Derek Salata produced a quality start (6 IP, 3 ER, 5 K) to earn the win as Saint Louis drops to 11-9 and the Redbirds improve to 9-8.
HOW IT HAPPENED
After Gile hit a three-run shot for the first inning, the 'Birds exploded for a nine-run 2nd inning as third-year sophomore Greg Nichols posted an RBI double, followed by a two-RBI single from fifth-year senior Aidan Huggins, three-run home run from McCaw, two-run homer from Sabotnik, and a Saint Louis balk.
SLU scored six of the next seven runs in the game to make it 13-7, but a Gile two-run home run in the 8th inning put the game away.
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
- Every player in the Illinois State lineup scored a run before the end of the 2nd inning.
- Each Redbird that had a hit (seven players) had multiple hits.
- McCaw and Gile each hit two home runs after third-year sophomore Ryan Cermak homered twice against UIC on 3/23. Since 2000, Illinois State had never had multiple home runs in back-to-back games from a player and the first time multiple players hit multiple home runs in a home game (since 2000).
- Fourth-year junior Justin Schubert (1 IP) and third-year sophomore Cameron Mabee (1.1 IP) provided scoreless relief.
- Nine runs in the 2nd inning is the most scored in a Redbird home game for one inning since 2000 (10 vs Illinois in 2010).
UP NEXT
Illinois State is scheduled to play Saturday (3:00 p.m. CT) and Sunday (1:00 p.m. CT) at Duffy Bass Field. Updates will be provided on GoRedbirds.com and @RedbirdBaseball on Twitter.
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