Illinois State Falls in 12-7 Decision to Jacksonville

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Juniors Shai Robinson and Daniel Pacella had four of ISU's nine hits in a 12-7 loss to Jacksonville at John Sessions Stadium on Saturday for the Redbirds.

Illinois State moves to 0-4 in 2025 while the Dolphins move to 2-4 overall this season.

HOW IT HAPPENED

The Dolphins scored first in the bottom of the 1st off a sac fly and RBI single to take an early 2-0 advantage.

Jacksonville's offense would rattle off five more runs in the 2nd thanks to five hits as the lead grew out to 7-0.

Illinois State would get on the board for the first time in the 6th with four runs off five hits. ISU got rolling off the bat of Robinson who knocked an RBI single before senior Kyle Gibson brought home a pair with a bloop single to make it 7-3. The final run of the frame would be Daniel Contreras bringing home Judah Morris to cut the deficit to 7-4.

The Dolphins would counter with three runs of their own in the bottom of the 6th as the score read 10-4 heading into the final three innings.

Once again, the Redbird offense attempted to ignite some momentum with three runs in the top of the 7th with a bases loaded walk by Pacella, hit by pitch RBI from Morris, and RBI single from Noah Smith to make it 10-7.

However, it would be JU scoring the game's final two runs in the bottom of the 7th to make it 12-7 as neither side for the remainder of the game.

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE

• ISU's bullpen was strong on Saturday as they allowed a combined five hits while striking out six across 6.2 innings.
• Gibson records his first multi-RBI game as a Redbird with a team-high three RBIs

UP NEXT  

Illinois State concludes the series at Jacksonville on Sunday morning as first pitch is set for 10:30 a.m. CT from John Sessions Stadium 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). 

GoRedbirds.com and the Illinois State Redbirds App:  Your sources for Illinois State tickets, Weisbecker Athletic Fund gifts, multimedia, Redbird merchandise, photos and more.