NORMAL, Ill. – Junior Josh Outlaw played midweek hero for Illinois State baseball, delivering a walk-off double in the 11th inning to defeat Eastern Illinois, 6-5, on Tuesday at Duffy Bass Field in the final midweek of the 2025 season.
Illinois State (25-25 overall) was led by senior Noah Smith and freshman Brayden Bakes, both of which totaled multiple RBIs.
Smith had a hit and two RBIs while Bakes recorded a home run and single.
Eastern Illinois drops to 26-20 overall.
Top Hitters
Pitching Breakdown:
- Ryan Weaver: 4.0 IP, 3 H, 0 ER, 1 BB, 2 K's
- Michael Addari: 1.0 IP, 1 H, 0 ER, 0 BB
- Thomas Harper: 1.0 IP, 0 H, 0 ER, 0 BB
- Braden Roesch: 1.0 IP, 1 H, 0 ER, 1 BB, 2 K's
- Toby Schriefer: 1.0 IP, 0 H, 0 ER, 2 BB, 1 K
- Joe Husak: 1.1 IP, 7 H, 1 ER, 0 BB, 1 K
- Tresdon Rybarczyk (W, 4-3): 1.2 IP, 1 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 2 K's
Scoring Breakdown:
- Illinois State scored a run in the home half of the first inning off a passed ball.
- In the second inning, a two-run home run from Brayden Bakes and a sac fly from Noah Smith moved it to 4-0 Redbirds.
- The lead grew to 5-0 in the 5th for the Redbirds thanks to an RBI single by Smith
- Eastern Illinois got on the board in the 8th
- The Panthers rallied to tie the score in the 9th with four runs off five hits
- After a walk by Chris Danko, Josh Outlaw tallied an RBI double to left center for the walk-off victory for the Birds, 6-5.
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
- Bakes records his eighth home run of 2025
- Illinois State moves to 7-4 against in-state conference foes this year
- Outlaw is the third Redbird with a walk-off hit this season (Shai Robinson and Daniel Pacella)
UP NEXT
The Redbirds head on the road for their final MVC series of 2025 at Indiana State from May 15-17.
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).
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