Redbirds Beat Salukis, 11-9, to Open Series

CARBONDALE, Ill. – Illinois State baseball team secured a Friday night victory at Southern Illinois by a 11-9 scoreline at Itchy Jones Stadium.

Illinois State (20-19 overall, 10-6 MVC) was led by two hits and three RBIs from junior Shai Robinson, as the Chicago native reached base in three of his five plate appearances (two hits, a walk).

Southern Illinois drops to 28-13 overall and 10-6 in the MVC.

Top Hitters:

• Graham Mastros: 3-for-5, 2 2B, 3 R
• Kyle Gibson: 3-for-5, 2B, 2 RBI
• Shai Robinson: 2-for-4, HR, 3 RBI

Pitching Breakdown:

• Thomas Harper: 4.0 IP, 9 H, 7 ER, 1 BB, 1 K
• Tresdon Rybarczyk (W, 3-1): 4.0 IP, 3 H, 2 ER, 0 BB, 2 K's
• Joe Husak (S, 5): 1.0 IP, 0 H, 0 ER, 1 BB, 1 K

Scoring Breakdown:

• Robinson broke open the scoring with a two-run home run in the top of the 1st for the 2-0 lead
• The Redbirds added four runs in the 2nd including a two-run double from Kyle Gibson to extend the margin to 6-0
• Southern Illinois cut the deficit in half in the bottom of the 2nd with a three-run home run for a 6-3 scoreline
• After ILS added a run in the 3rd, SIU would tie the score with four runs in the 4th to make it 7-7
• Once again, the Redbirds grabbed the lead in the 5th with three runs to grab a 10-7 lead
• Pacella would knock out a solo home run in the 8th to make the score 11-7
• The Salukis cut the lead in half, once again, with a two-run home run in the bottom of the 8th for the final spread of 11-9.

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE

• Luke Stulga extends his team-best hitting streak to 15 games
• Daniel Pacella knocked his 42nd career HR, 14th in 2025, to move into sole possession of second all-time in program history
• Joe Husak closed the game in the 9th for his 12th career save as a Redbird, tying for second all-time in program history in the category

UP NEXT

Illinois State continues the series against Southern Illinois on Saturday with first pitch at 2 PM at Itchy Jones Stadium.

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