CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – Illinois State baseball suffered its first loss since March 23, falling by a final of 10-6 to in-state foe Illinois Tuesday at Illinois Field.
Illinois State (17-12 overall) saw two hits from sophomore Luke Lawrence and a pair of RBIs from sophomore Daniel Pacella in the loss.
Illinois moves to 17-13 overall in 2024.
HOW IT HAPPENED
Illinois scored first in the bottom of the 1st off an RBI single up the middle to get the scoring started, 1-0.
Illinois State would respond, scoring two in the top of the 3rd off the bat of sophomore Daniel Pacella, to take an early 2-1 lead.
However, the 'Birds momentum would be short-lived as Illinois scored seven runs in the bottom of the 3rd to retake the lead and make it an 8-3 margin.
The Redbirds got a run back in the top of the 5th with a home run to right field by senior Greg Nichols to make it an 8-3 ball game.
The Illini would reach double digit runs in the bottom of the 7th off a solo home run and an RBI double to make the score 10-3 after seven innings.
Illinois State scored again in the top of the 9th off a bases loaded walk before adding two more off an RBI single from Shaydon Kubo but could not complete the comeback, falling by four.
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
- Lawrence moves his on-base and hitting streak to 15 games
- Junior JT Sokolove has now reached base in 17 straight games after drawing a walk on Tuesday
- Junior Tresdon Rybarczyk shined out of the bullpen, going 2.1 innings with a strikeout and three hits allowed
UP NEXTÂ Â
Illinois State remains on the road as the Redbirds will face Western Illinois on Wednesday. First pitch is set for 3 p.m. CT from Macomb on ESPN+.
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
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