SPRINGFIELD, Mo. – Illinois State baseball was clicking on all cylinders on Sunday at Hammons Field as sophomore Daniel Pacella blasted a pair of home runs to lead the Redbirds to a 11-2 win over Missouri State.
Illinois State (14-11, 4-2 MVC) also got a home run from senior Auggie Rasmussen as the 'Birds lead 10-1 after six innings.
Junior Tanner Perry conceded just one run to the Bears (10-15 overall, 1-5 MVC) in seven innings as he got the Sunday start for ISU.
Scoring Breakdown:
Junior Noah Smith opened the scoring with an RBI single in the 2nd inning.
The Bears got their first run in the 4th inning with an RBI single.
An RBI hit from junior JT Sokolove opened the 5th-inning scoring, but it was Pacella and senior Auggie Rasmussen delivering the big blows of the inning, a pair of two-RBI home runs as the 'Birds led 6-1 after the first four and a half innings.
Illinois State kept the bats going, scoring four more runs in the 6th innings, highlighted by a two-RBI double from Rasmussen to make it 10-1 Redbirds.
Pacella would line a deep drive over the right field wall and put the game out of reach with his second home run of the afternoon.
Missouri State scored the last run of the afternoon, an RBI single, in the 8th inning to see the final score of 11-2.
INSIDE THE BOX SCOREÂ
- Pacella becomes the first player to hit 2+ homers in a game since Auggie Rasmussen did so at Indiana on March 13
- Nine Redbirds recorded a hit in the win
- Junior Blake Stenger made his second start of 2024, going 3-for-4 with two runs scored
UP NEXTÂ Â
Illinois State is scheduled to return home to host Illinois on April 2 at 5 p.m. CT from Duffy Bass Field.
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).Â
GoRedbirds.com and the Illinois State Redbirds App:  Your sources for Illinois State tickets, Weisbecker Athletic Fund gifts, multimedia, Redbird merchandise, photos and more.