Redbirds Hit Their Way to Series-Opening Win

NORMAL, Ill. – Illinois State defeated Evansville Friday evening at Duffy Bass Field, 17-8. The Redbirds got hits from eight of the nine starters in the lineup.

Starting pitcher, Thomas Harper, earns the victory to move his 2025 record to 3-1 this season. The Redbirds improve to 16-16, 7-3 MVC on the season with the win.

Top Hitters:

• Daniel Contreras: 3-for-5, 2B, 5 RBI
• Graham Mastros: 3-for-6, 2 RBI, 3 R
• Shai Robinson: 1-for-3, 2 RBI, 2 R

Pitching Breakdown:

• Thomas Harper (W, 3-1): 5.0 IP, 6 H, 4 ER, 5 BB, 2 K's
• Tresdon Rybarczyk (S, 2): 4.0 IP, 5 H, 4 ER, 2 BB, 1 K

Scoring Breakdown:

• Brayden Bakes sent a ball down the left field line to start the scoring at 1-0 in the bottom of the 1st
• Evansville would respond with three runs of their own in the top of the 2nd with an RBI double and two-RBI groundout to take a 3-1 lead
• Illinois State regained the momentum with four runs in the bottom of the 2nd before adding an insurance run in the 3rd for the 6-3 advantage
• The Purple Aces saw another run come off an RBI single during the 4th to trim the margin to 6-4
• The Redbirds padded the lead with a fielder's choice and wild pitch in the 4th for a 9-4 lead
• An Aces error and sac fly in the 5th inning expanded the lead for the Redbirds to 12-4
• Evansville would add to their run total with two more in the 6th thanks to a walk and RBI single for a 12-6 ballgame
• Four runs crossed the plate in the 6th for the Redbirds as ILS led 17-6 after six innings
• An RBI single and sac fly in the 7th gave Evansville their final runs of the night for the final spread of 17-8

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE

• Contreras records his first 5+ RBI game this season
• Daniel Pacella has now reached base in 24 straight games in 2025
• This is the third time this season in which ILS has scored 10+ runs in back-to-back games (Western Illinois/SIUE; Belmont/Iowa; Illinois/Evansville)

UP NEXT             

Illinois State and Evansville continue the weekend series on Saturday with first pitch at 3 PM from Duffy Bass Field.

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).

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