SAINT CHARLES, Mo. – The Illinois State baseball team put together a strong all-around performance on Saturday at Lou Brock Sports Complex, topping Lindenwood, 8-6.
The Redbirds (2-6) were led by Daniel Contreras at the plate, going 3-for-3 with a walk while Shai Robinson, Judah Morris, and Luke Stulga all tallied a home run in the win.
Senior Joe Husak threw 3.0 innings of relief to close the door and get his first save of the season while fellow senior Carter Monke recorded the win after going six innings.
Lindenwood moves to 5-6 overall.
HOW IT HAPPENED
After four scoreless innings, the Redbirds broke through in the 5th with an RBI double from Contreras for a 1-0 lead.
The Birds would pad the lead with a pair of home runs in the 6th from Robinson and Morris to make it a 3-0 ball game.
Lindenwood responded in the bottom of the 6th with two runs to trim the margin to 3-2 after six innings of play.
In the top of the 7th, Stulga sent one out to left field for his first home run of the year as ISU pulled ahead 5-2.
The Redbird offense would tack on three more runs in the 8th off an RBI single from Eric Machej, fielder's choice by Stulga, and RBI single by Kyle Gibson to make it 8-2.
Lindenwood did not go quietly, knocking in a solo home run in the bottom of the 8th to make it 8-3.
The Lions would attempt to rally in the bottom of the 9th with three runs, but the Birds closed it out for the three-run victory.
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
- Kyle Gibson reached base for the 8th straight game to begin 2025
- Redbirds outhit the Lions, 12-10
- Carter Monke got the start, going 6.0 innings with four hits allowed and one earned run given up
UP NEXT
Illinois State and Lindenwood conclude the weekend on Sunday with first pitch at 1 PM CT from the Lou Brock Sports Complex.
For the latest updates on Illinois State Baseball, stay tuned at GoRedbirds.com, follow the Redbirds on X (@RedbirdBaseball) and Instagram (isuredbirdbaseball), and like the team on Facebook (Illinois State Baseball).
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