Redbirds Fall 5-3 To Miami (OH) In Final Contest Of Snowbird Classic

PORT CHARLOTTE, Fla. –   The Illinois State baseball program fell in a tightly contested matchup, 5-3, to Miami (OH) Sunday afternoon in the final day of the Snowbird Classic. The Redbirds fall to 5-2 overall through the first seven games of 2026. 

Miami (OH) opened the scoring in the contest with a sacrifice fly that drove in a Redhawks run to take a 1-0 lead in the second inning. Trailing early, Illinois State responded as Junior transfer Michael Carrano, in his first career start, homered to right field to give the Redbirds a 2-1 advantage in the bottom half of the frame. 

After four scoreless innings, the Redhawks reclaimed the lead following a three-run home run to give Miami (OH) a 4-2 lead in the top of the seventh. The Redbirds later pulled a run as Redshirt Sophomore Brayden Bakes brought home Senior Josh Outlaw, to make the score 4-3. 

Despite the attempt at a late rally from the Redbirds, Miami (OH) added an insurance run at the top of the ninth to earn the 5-3 win. 

NOTES 

• Junior Michael Carrano recorded his first home run as a Redbird with a two-run home run in the second inning of the contest. 

• Senior Josh Outlaw extended his hitting streak to five games, the longest streak this season for a Redbird. 

• Junior Luke Stulga and Graduate Payton McHarg have recorded a hit in the previous four games after each notched a base-hit in the contest. 

• Junior Graham Mastros added a base hit to move his hit streak to three games, matching a season-best streak to open 2026. 

• The Redbirds recorded nine strikeouts in the contest and have tallied nine or more team strikeouts in the last four games.  

UP NEXT 

The Redbirds will travel to Huntsville, Ala., for a mid-week contest with Alabama A&M on Wednesday, Feb. 25, with first pitch scheduled for 1 p.m. 

For the latest updates on Illinois State Baseball, stay tuned at GoRedbirds.com, follow the Redbirds on X (formerly Twitter) (@RedbirdBaseball), and Instagram (isuredbirdbaseball), and like the team on Facebook (Illinois State Baseball). 

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