Redbirds Drop Saturday Contest To Evansville

EVANSVILLE, Ind. –  The Illinois State baseball program dropped game two of its three-game series with Evansville, 4-0, Saturday afternoon at German American Bank Field at Charles H. Braun Stadium. With the defeat, Illinois State falls to 3-2 in Valley Play, and 17-10 overall in 2026. 

The Redbirds looked to strike early after base hits from Redshirt Sophomore Brayden Bakes and Junior Graham Mastros provided a pair of base runners for Illinois State in the first inning. After Junior Ryan Bakes was hit by a pitch, the Redbirds loaded the bases with two outs but were unable to plate a run as Evansville captured the final out to prevent early damage. 

In the bottom half, the Purple Aces lead off the bottom half of the frame before Junior Michael Addari retired the next six Evansville batters he faced. Addari continued to limit the Purple Aces offense as the Libertyville, Ill. native only allowed two base runners on a hit-by-pitch and a single until the sixth inning. 

After five and a half scoreless innings, Evansville opened the sixth with a base runner following an error from the Redbirds, which allowed the Purple Aces' leadoff hitter to reach. Moments later, as Evansville worked the runner into scoring position, the Purple Aces took advantage as an infield single pushed the score to 1-0. 

An inning later, Evansville loaded the bases with a single and a pair of walks and worked its second run of the contest across on a hit-by-pitch to make the score 2-0. The Purple Aces added a two-RBI single to move their advantage to 4-0. 

In the ninth, the Redbirds attempted to rally, working a pair of runners on base with a walk from Senior Kannon Coakley and a single by Sophomore Louis Bussard; however, Evansville shut down the Redbirds' threat to secure the victory. 

NOTES 

• Junior Michael Addari recorded the longest outing of his career with 6.0 innings pitched in the contest. Addari limited the Purple Aces to one unearned run and three hits. 

• In the outing, Addari added five strikeouts to record his third straight start with five or more punchouts. 

• In Addari's previous three starts, the Libertyville, Ill., has limited opponents to three combined runs, all being unearned. 

• Redshirt Sophomore Brayden Bakes tallied his 17th multi-hit performance of the season with two hits. The Algonquin, Ill., native's total remains a team best. 

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