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Illinois State University Athletics

Daniel Pacella
Emmy Wolfe
5
NIU NIU 7-32
11
Winner Illinois State ILS 15-22
NIU NIU
7-32
5
Final
11
Illinois State ILS
15-22
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
NIU NIU 0 3 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 5 7 0
Illinois State ILS 3 1 4 0 0 2 1 0 X 11 12 0

W: Holcomb, Zach (1-0) L: PEDERSON (0-1)

Game Recap: Baseball |

Holcomb Shines in Illinois State's 11-5 Win Over Northern Illinois

NORMAL, Ill. – Fourth-year sophomore Zach Holcomb threw four scoreless innings in relief as the Illinois State baseball team topped Northern Illinois, 11-5, on Wednesday at Duffy Bass Field.

Holcomb was inserted in a bases-loaded, nobody out jam in the 4th inning, but still found a way to put a zero on the scoreboard before throwing three more scoreless innings. He struck out career-high six batters and allowed just a bloop single and hit-by-pitch, despite having recorded just one out in two prior appearances.

Freshman Daniel Pacella hit a three-run homer, freshman Shai Robinson reached base four times, and fourth-year junior Shaydon Kubo had three hits to lead the Illinois State (15-22 overall) offensive attack in a game that saw a combined 13 runs scored in the first three innings.

Northern Illinois moves to 7-32 overall.

HOW IT HAPPENED

Pacella's three-run blast in the 1st inning got the scoring going before Northern Illinois tied the game in the 2nd inning.

Robinson knocked in a run in the bottom of the frame to put ISU up, 4-3, but NIU took a 6-5 lead in the 3rd inning.

Second-year sophomore Noah Rabin, third-year sophomore Nick Strong, and Robinson all tallied RBI singles in the 3rd inning while fourth-year junior Adrian Flores also knocked in a run to move ISU's lead to 8-5.

Kubo recorded an RBI hit before Rabin and second-year sophomore JP Gauthier hit sacrifice flies to extend the lead to 11-5.

Freshman Tyrelle Chadwick threw two scoreless frames to close the game.

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE

  • Rasmussen's on-base streak moves to 17 games, the longest by a Redbird this season, as he recorded two walks.
  • Pacella now has 12 home runs, four behind Frank Mustari's 16 in 1985 for the Illinois State freshman record.
  • Robinson has reached base safely at least four times in four of the last five games.

UP NEXT

Illinois State is scheduled to head to Southern Illinois for a weekend series from April 28-30 before a Tuesday match-up at Iowa.

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 Athletic Fund gifts, multimedia, Redbird merchandise, photos and more.

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