NORMAL, Ill. – The Illinois State baseball program secured a 9-4 victory over Belmont to open Missouri Valley Conference play, Friday evening at Duffy Bass Field. The Redbirds improve to 15-7 in 2026 with the win.
Redshirt Sophomore Brayden Bakes headlined the Redbirds' offense with his second consecutive game with four hits. With three home runs in the victory, Bakes matches a career-best total, which he accomplished last season against Belmont on March 23. Bakes joins teammate Junior Graham Mastros to become the second Redbird this season with three home runs and five RBIs in a game.
Junior Ryan Bakes joined his twin brother with a pair of hits and his first multi-RBI performance of the season with two in the contest. The Bakes' brothers combined for seven of the Redbirds' eight runs batted in.
Graduate Camden Karczewski added his sixth performance with two or more hits in the last games in the victory. With a pair of hits, including a double, Karczewski extended his hitting streak to nine games to match a career-best streak.
The Redbirds jumped out to a 1-0 lead after Brayden Bakes tallied his first home run of the contest with a solo blast to give Illinois State an early advantage. Moments later, Belmont responded with two home runs of their own, including a three-run home run to take a 4-1 lead in the top of the third.
Despite the Bruins' response, Illinois State clawed back in the bottom half, adding two runs to cut the deficit to 4-3, as Bakes delivered his second home run of the contest with a two-run bomb following a double from Karczewski earlier in the frame. An inning later, the Redbirds evened the score at 4-4 as Sophomore Eric Machej drove home Ryan Bakes after a lead-off double from the Algonquin, Ill. native.
In the seventh, the Redbirds reclaimed the lead on a passed ball, which moved the score to 5-4, after setting up a pair of runners in scoring position with a pair of base hits. Later in the frame, Ryan Bakes delivered two RBIs on a double to push the Illinois State advantage to 7-4. After regaining the advantage, Brayden Bakes delivered his third home run of the contest with a two-run home run in the bottom half of the eighth to add to the Redbird lead and make the score 9-4.
Following the four-run third inning from the Bruins, Senior Thomas Harper and the Redbirds' bullpen trio of Foley, Okumura, and Clapp tossed five scoreless frames and limited the Bruins to two hits to secure the win.
NOTES
- The Redbirds extend their winning streak to seven games, surpassing the longest streak in the Steve Holm era.
- During the win streak, Illinois State has recorded at least 10 hits in all contests and has tallied double-digit hit totals in 10 of the last 12 games.
- The victory marks the fourth conference-opening victory for Illinois State in the Holm era. The Redbirds have earned wins to open conference play in back-to-back seasons.
- Redshirt Sophomore Brayden Bakes tallied three home runs for the second time in his career in the victory.
- Bakes joins teammate Junior Graham Mastros to record a three-home-run performance this season and to have five or more RBIs in a single contest.
- Bakes extended his hitting streak to a season-best seven games and has tallied two or more hits in the last six games. In back-to-back contests, Bakes has recorded four hits, marking the first time in his career he has accomplished the feat.
- Junior Ryan Bakes added a pair of hits and RBIs in the victory for his first multi-RBI game as a Redbird.
- The Bakes brother pairing combined for seven of Illinois State's eight RBIs.
- With two hits, Graduate Camden Karczewski recorded a pair of hits to grow his hitting streak to nine games, matching a career-best streak. Karczewski has tallied two or more hits in six of his last eight contests.
- The Redbirds bullpen trio of Foley, Okumura, and Clapp combined for five scoreless innings in relief and limited the Bruins to just one hit.
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