NORMAL, Ill. – Freshmen JT Sokolove and JP Gauthier showed flashes of their abilities in a tight 9-8 loss for the Illinois State baseball team against Missouri Valley Conference-leading Southern Illinois at Duffy Bass Field on Thursday evening.
Sokolove recorded a pair of hits with three RBIs, two runs scored, and a stolen base while Gauthier smacked two doubles and crossed the plate twice for the Redbirds (19-29 overall, 6-13 MVC).
Illinois State led 6-1 early but was unable to hold the lead.
Southern Illinois (39-13 overall, 15-4 MVC) could clinch at least a share of the MVC title, its first since 1990, Friday.
HOW IT HAPPENED
Southern Illinois scored two runs in the top of the 3rd inning before ISU got on the board with a Sokolove RBI.
ISU scored five times in the 4th inning as Gile singled home a run before Sokolove recorded an infield hit and forced an SIU error to plate a pair of runs. Second-year sophomore Luke Cheng recorded a two-RBI single to extend the Redbird lead to 6-1.
Walks plagued the 'Birds in the 6th inning as SIU got three runs back before ISU scored twice on the bottom of the frame on singles by Sokolove and Cheng.
SIU scored four runs in the 7th inning to lead 9-8. Illinois State got runners on 1st and 2nd with no outs but could not get a run across.
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
UP NEXT
Illinois State is now scheduled to host Southern Illinois on Friday at 1:00 p.m. CT before concluding the series at 4:30 p.m. CT. Senior Day festivities will occur after the 4:30 p.m. CT contest.
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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