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Illinois State University Athletics

Ryan Cermak baseball 2022 first grand slam at WIU 4-6-2022
Scott Beaton, ISU Athletics
15
Winner Illinois State ILS 12-11
7
Western Illinois WIU 3-22
Winner
Illinois State ILS
12-11
15
Final
7
Western Illinois WIU
3-22
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
Illinois State ILS 1 3 0 1 4 4 0 0 2 15 9 1
Western Illinois WIU 0 1 0 0 0 3 3 0 0 7 10 3

W: Schubert, Justin (1-1) L: Greenan, J. (0-2)

Game Recap: Baseball |

Cermak Hits Two Grand Slams, Three Homers with School-Record Ten RBIs in Win at Western Illinois

Macomb, Ill. – The Ryan Cermak show took over Macomb, Ill. on Wednesday as the third-year sophomore blasted grand slams in back-to-back innings and homered in his next at-bat en route to recording a school-record 10 RBIs in Illinois State's 15-7 win at Western Illinois.

Cermak broke Mike Prior's school-record nine RBIs mark that was set in 1985. Cermak is also the ninth player in Redbird history to hit three home runs in a game and first to do so since current St. Louis Cardinal Paul DeJong hit three against Eastern Ilinois in 2015.

Cermak also scored five runs (tied school record with five others, first since Brett Kay in 2012) as he walked and was hit by a pitch. 

Fifth-year senior Jake McCaw also recorded three RBIs and sixth-year senior Kyle Soberano scored four times for the Redbirds (12-11 overall, 1-2 MVC).

Western Illinois falls to 3-22 as Cermak terrorized the Leatherneck bullpen.

HOW IT HAPPENED  

McCaw recorded an RBI double in the 1st inning before the 'Birds scored three runs in the 2nd inning without getting a hit.

After WIU scored once in the 3rd inning, McCaw added another RBI hit in the 4th inning to push the lead to 5-1.

Cermak then hit grand slams in both the 5th and 6th innings to give ISU a commanding 13-1 lead.

After WIU scored the game's next six runs, Cermak smashed his third home run in as many at-bats in the 9th inning.

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE 

  • Cermak's five runs scored are tied for the third-most in a Division I game in 2022 while his 10 RBIs are tied for the second-most. His five runs are the most by a Redbird since Brett Kay scored five times at Tennessee Tech in 2012.
  • Cermak DH'd for the first time in his career.
  • First-year freshman Ryan Weaver made his collegiate debut, recording the start and throwing 1.1 innings pitched and allowing one run.

UP NEXT  

Illinois State is scheduled to travel to Kansas from April 8-10.

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). 

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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