NORMAL, Ill. – The Illinois State baseball team swept Western Illinois in the home opener at Duffy Bass Field Saturday afternoon. The Redbirds defeated the Leathernecks 11-4 in game one and 10-0 (8 inn.) in game two.
Redbird Performers Game 1
Top Hitters:
Pitching Breakdown:
Scoring Breakdown:
- The Redbirds got on the scoreboard first, as Josh Outlaw drove in Graham Mastros on a bunt to give ISU a 1-0 lead.
- Kyle Gibson would collect a sacrifice fly to end the 2nd inning as the Redbirds led 2-0 after two innings
- Western Illinois took the lead in the 3rd with a three-run home run for the 3-2 advantage
- Judah Morris sent out his seventh home run of 2025 in the 3rd inning to regain the lead for ISU, 4-3.
- Gibson would double down the left field line to drive in Outlaw and make it 5-3.
- Noah Smith tallied a sacrifice fly in the 4th as ISU pulled ahead 6-3.
- The Leathernecks scored on an RBI single in the 5th to close the gap at 6-4.
- Daniel Contreras sent a shot through the left side, plating two runs, as the Birds gained some distance with a 8-4 lead.
- Gibson drove in his third RBI of the afternoon in the 5th with an RBI single up the middle
- Shai Robinson finished the scoring in game one with a two-run home run in the 8th to make it the final score of 11-4.
Redbird Performers Game 2
Top Hitters:
- Daniel Pacella: 2-for-3, 2 RBI, 2B, 2 BB
- Shai Robinson: 2-for-3, HR, 2 R, 2 RBI
- Luke Stulga: 2-for-4, HR, 2 R, 2B, RBI
Pitching Breakdown:
Scoring Breakdown:
- Shai Robinson kickstarted the scoring in game two with a solo shot to left field, his second home run of the afternoon, for the early 1-0 lead.
- The Redbirds added three runs in the 3rd off an RBI single from Noah Smith and a two-RBI double by Daniel Pacella
- Luke Stulga sent out his second home run of 2025 in the 4th to build the lead to 5-0.
- Judah Morris recorded an RBI double in the 6th to kickstart a four-run frame for the Birds
- Graham Mastros singled up the middle to bring home two runs and grow the lead to 8-0.
- Josh Outlaw would show off his speed, legging out a triple, and securing an RBI in the process for the 9-0 lead.
- Robinson would walk-off the game in the bottom of the 8th with a line drive right back up the middle for the 10-0 run rule victory.
UP NEXT
Illinois State will host SIUE in a Tuesday midweek at Duffy Bass Field. First pitch is set for 5 PM on Tuesday as the game will be streamed on ESPN+.
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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