Redbirds Fall in Series Opener to Belmont, 11-5

NORMAL, Ill. – Illinois State baseball fell, 11-5, on Friday at Duffy Bass Field in the series opener against Belmont.

Illinois State (26-25 overall, 14-11 MVC) saw redshirt junior Judah Morris lead the offense, going 2-for-3 with three RBIs.

Belmont improves to 25-28 overall and 12-13 in MVC play this year.

HOW IT HAPPENED

Illinois State opened the scoring in the bottom of the 1^st with an RBI double from redshirt junior Judah Morris and two-RBI single from junior Noah Rabin to build an early 3-0 lead.

Belmont responded with the game's next two runs, one in the 4^th and one in the 5^th, to trim the Redbird lead to 3-2.

Morris would pad the Redbird lead again in the bottom of the 5^th with a two-RBI triple to make it a 5-2 ball game.

The Bruins totaled the game's next nine runs with two in the 6^th, two in the 7^th, and five in the 8^th to make it 11-5.

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE

• Morris' double in the 1^st was his 17^th double of 2024, second most in the Steve Holm era (19 by Ryan Cermak in 2022).
• Senior Cameron Mabee made his 14^th start of 2024, throwing 6.0 innings with three strikeouts
• Illinois State is 10-7 at home in 2024

UP NEXT

Illinois State and Belmont will continue the series with first pitch at 3:00 p.m. CT Friday at Duffy Bass Field. The game will be broadcasted on ESPN+.

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