NORMAL, Ill. – The Illinois State baseball program secured a 5-4 walkoff victory over Saint Louis Tuesday afternoon at Duffy Bass Field. With the win, the Redbirds improve to 21-12 in 2026.
Illinois State trailed 4-2 entering the ninth and needed a rally to secure the victory. To open the frame, Junior Ryan Bakes walked, and Louis Bussard singled to place the tying run on for the Redbirds. With runners on first and second, Junior Nolan Barry attempted to advance the pair into scoring position but was able to reach and load the bases on a Saint Louis error.
As Illinois State loaded the bases, Graduate Camden Karczewski and Redshirt Sophomore Brayden Bakes notched back-to-back singles to even the score at 4-4. With the winning run 90 feet away, Senior Josh Outlaw stepped up and delivered with an RBI single through the left side of the infield to secure the Redbird victory.
The Redbirds took the first lead of the contest in the second inning following back-to-back hits to open the inning from Junior Michael Carrano and Ryan Bakes. After Carrano's leadoff single, Bakes doubled to place the pairing into scoring position. With two runners on, Bussard tallied an RBI on a groundout as Carrano scored to give Illinois State a 1-0 lead. Moments later, Sophomore Eric Machej plated Bakes to push the Redbird advantage to 2-0.
In the top of the third, the Billikens responded with an RBI double and an RBI single to even the score at 2-2. With the contest all square, Saint Louis claimed the lead an inning later with a solo home run to make the score 3-2. After back-to-back scoreless innings, the Bilikens added another run to their lead with an RBI single in the seventh frame to move their advantage to 4-2.
In the eighth, the Redbirds looked to rally as Brayden Bakes reached with a walk to lead off the inning. With a runner on, Junior Luke Stulga singled as both Stulga and Bakes capitalized on a Saint Louis error to place the outfield pairing into scoring position. Despite the late jam, the Billikens stranded the runners entering the ninth before Outlaw's walkoff to secure the Redbird win.
NOTES
- The walkoff win marks the third walkoff of the season for the Redbirds, with all three occurring at Duffy Bass Field.
- Illinois State earns the series sweep over Saint Louis with the win, and improves to 43-24 in the all-time series.
- With 11 hits, Illinois State secured its 20th victory this season, in which the Redbirds have recorded a double–digit hit total.
- After securing the walkoff victory, the Redbirds improve to 8-1 this season in contests at Duffy Bass Field.
- Junior Jacob Culp tallied his first career victory after entering the contest in the eighth inning. Culp tossed back-to-back scoreless frames without allowing a hit and tallied two strikeouts.
- Freshman Brayden Zilis recorded his longest outing of the season with 3.1 innings pitched and added two strikeouts.
- Junior Graham Mastros tallied two hits in the contest to record his 16th multi-hit game of the season.
- Graduate Camden Karczewski added his 13th multi-hit performance of the season with a pair of hits in the victory.
- Sophomore Louis Bussard notched his second multi-hit game of the campaign and has tallied an RBI in back-to-back games for the second time this season.
- With the walkoff hit, Senior Josh Outlaw improved his reached base streak to 13 games.
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