NORMAL, Ill. – The Illinois State baseball program earned a 6-5 victory over SIUE on Wednesday afternoon at Duffy Bass Field. The Redbirds are winners of six straight and improve to 14-7 in 2026.
Redshirt Sophomore Brayden Bakes matched a career-best hit total with a 4-for-5 performance in the victory and stood a double shy of the cycle. Bakes leads the Redbirds with 13 multi-hit games in 2026. Junior Luke Stulga added a pair of hits, including his second home run of the season, with a three-run home run in the first inning.
In the home half of the first inning, Illinois State jumped out to a 3-0 lead after a leadoff walk from Graduate Camden Karczewski and a base hit from Brayden Bakes put runners on to set up Stulga's three-run home run. An inning later, after Stulga's home run, SIUE responded with a four-run inning on a sacrifice fly and a trio of hits to take a 4-3 lead in the top of the second.
Trailing in the bottom of the fourth, the Redbirds put a pair of runners on the bases following a fielder's choice and a single from Karczewski to set up Bakes two-RBI double and allow Illinois State to reclaim the lead at 5-4.
In the sixth inning, the Cougars pulled a run back to even the score at 5-5. After SIUE tied the contest, Bakes delivered his second extra-base hit with a solo home run to push the Redbirds out front 6-5.
The Redbirds maintained the advantage for the rest of the contest with a combined three scoreless frames from Senior Shuto Tiger Okumura, Junior Nolan Girard, and Graduate Reece Clapp. The Illinois State bullpen trio limited the Cougars to just one hit in the final three innings to secure the victory.
NOTES
- With the win, Illinois State captures the season series over SIUE and improves to 25–11-1 in the all-time series with the Cougars.
- The Redbirds tallied their 14th contest with 10 or more hits this season. Illinois State has recorded at least 10 hits in its last six games.
- The Illinois State pitching staff has combined for 10 strikeouts in its previous six contests and recorded its eighth game with a double-digit punchout total this season.
- Graduate Camden Karczewski extended his hitting streak to eight games with a base hit in the contest. Karczewski becomes the second Redbird this season to tally a hit streak of eight or more games.
- Redshirt Sophomore Brayden Bakes tallied his first four-hit performance of the season with a 4-for-5 line in the game. Bakes' hit total matches a career-best for a single game and marks his 13th multi-hit performance of the season, a team-best.
- Bakes extended his career-longest hitting streak to six games in the victory.
- Junior Luke Stulga added a pair of hits in the win to tally his 11th multi-hit game in 2026. Stulga extended his season-best hitting streak to six games in the contest.
- Stulga has reached base in the previous 12 games and joins Junior Graham Mastros for the longest reached-base streak from a Redbird this season.
- With three RBIs, Stulga recorded his eighth game with two or more RBIs, which is the most of all Redbirds.
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