NORMAL, Ill. – The Illinois State baseball team put together a strong all-around performance on Saturday at Duffy Bass Field, topping Bradley, 9-3.
The Redbirds (15-18 overall, 3-5 MVC) had four players with multiple RBIs (second-year sophomore Luke Cheng, three; sixth-year senior Kyle Soberano, fifth-year senior Nick Gile, and fifth-year junior Jake McCaw each had two).
Fifth-year senior Colin Wyman threw four scoreless innings to earn the save while fourth-year junior Derek Salata recorded the win after going five innings.
The Braves fall to 12-20 overall and 4-4 in the MVC.
HOW IT HAPPENED
In the 1st inning, Gile and Cheng each recorded an RBI single before Soberano smacked a two-RBI double to left-center to push the lead to 4-0.
Bradley got a run back in the 2nd inning, but McCaw responded with a two-run 377-foot home run to left field.
The Braves cut the lead to 6-3 after five innings. A bases-loaded walk to Gile and bases-loaded HBP to Cheng gave the Redbirds an 8-3 lead before Cheng grounded home another run in the 8th inning.
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
- McCaw is now the only Redbird to start every game.
- Wyman has two career saves, both of which have come in 2022 and have been at least three innings in length.
- Both teams used exactly two pitchers in each game of the series.
UP NEXT
Illinois State is scheduled to host Bradley on Sunday at 1:00 p.m. CT in the series rubber match.
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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