ST. LOUIS, Mo. – The Illinois State baseball program captured an 8-5 victory over Saint Louis Tuesday afternoon at the Billikens Sports Center. With the win, the Redbirds move to 9-7 overall in 2026.
The Redbirds jumped out to a 1-0 advantage after leadoff hitter Gradaute Camden Karzcweski homered to left field on the second pitch of the contest to put Illinois State out in front.
After two scoreless frames, Illinois State added four runs in the top of the fourth inning. Junior Luke Stulga drove in Junior Graham Mastros on an RBI single to push the Redbirds' advantage to 2-0 as Junior Michael Carrano followed Stulga's RBI single with a two-run inside-the-park home run, extending the Redbirds' lead to 4-0. Following Carrano, junior Ryan Bakes hit a home run of his own, bringing the score to 5-0. Saint Louis responded in the bottom half of the inning with a four-run frame on six base hits to cut the lead to 5-4.
In the top of the sixth, the Redbirds improved their lead to 6-4 after Redshirt Sophomore Brayden Brakes singled to drive home Sophomore Eric Machej following a leadoff single from Machej to open the frame. An inning later in the seventh, the Billikens pulled a run back after a leadoff double and an RBI single to make the score 6-5.
After Saint Louis worked a pair of runners into scoring position in the eighth inning, Graduate Reece Clapp tallied back-to-back strikeouts to close the frame and preserve the Redbirds' lead at 6-5.
In the ninth, Illinois State added two insurance runs as Senior Nolan Barry tallied a two-RBI single after the Redbirds worked three walks to load the bases. In the bottom half, the Billikens brought the tying run to the plate; however, Clapp worked out the jam to secure the victory for the Redbirds.
NOTES
- The Redbirds three home runs in the contest mark the most in a game since the season opener, where Illinois State tallied five home runs.
- Illinois State has homered in 14 out of the 16 contests this season, and Tuesday's performance marks the fifth time this season the Redbirds have tallied two or more home runs in a game.
- All batters in the Redbirds' starting lineup tallied a hit for the first time since May 2, 2025, against Missouri State.
- Illinois State improves to 42-24 in the all-time series with Saint Louis
- Graduate Camden Karczewski's leadoff home run in the first inning marked his first home run as a Redbird.
- Karczewski tallied a 2-for-4 performance in the contest to record two or more hits in back-to-back games for the second time this season.
- Junior Graham Mastros extended his hitting streak to seven games, matching Senior Josh Outlaw for the longest streak by a Redbird this season.
- With an inside-the-park home run in the second inning, Junior Michael Carrano has homered in back-to-back contests. Carrano becomes the first Redbird since Ryan Cermak on April 10, 2022, to tally an inside-the-parker.
- Junior Luke Stulga tallied his seventh multi-hit performance of the season after going 3-for-5 with a double and a pair of singles.
- Freshman Jackson Natanek earned his first career win after entering the contest in the fourth inning.
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