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Illinois State University Athletics

Luke Stulga
Tyler Coe
5
Valparaiso VALPARAI 10-31
6
Winner Illinois St. ISU 28-17
Valparaiso VALPARAI
10-31
5
Final
6
Illinois St. ISU
28-17
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
Valparaiso VALPARAI 1 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 5 7 0
Illinois St. ISU 0 0 0 1 3 0 0 0 2 6 12 2

W: Clapp, Reece (4-2) L: Spencer Boynton (0-7)

Game Recap: Baseball | | Sam Collins

Stulga's RBI Single Secures Redbirds' 6-5 Walk-Off Victory Over Valparaiso Friday

NORMAL, Ill. – The Illinois State baseball program secured a walk-off 6-5 victory over Valpo Friday evening at Duffy Bass Field. 

With the victory, the Redbirds improve to 28-17 overall and 10-9 in Missouri Valley Conference play in 2026.

Junior Luke Stulga delivered the walk-off win for Illinois State with an RBI single to score Junior Ryan Bakes. This season, the Redbirds have earned five walk-off victories, including two in the last pair of series-opening contests.

Valparaiso struck first after capitalizing on a Redbird error on a double to open scoring in the top half of the first to take a 1-0 advantage. In the second, the Beacons loaded the bases with a pair of walks and a hit-by-pitch to open the frame. With a runner on each base, Valpo capitalized with a sacrifice fly and a sacrifice bunt to add a pair of runs before an RBI single rounded out a three-run frame to move the Beacons in front 4-0.

Despite the early deficit, the Redbirds battled back as Junior Michael Carrano Jr. homered to pull a run back in the fourth to spark the Illinois State offense and cut the deficit to 4-1. Moments later in the fifth, the Redbirds rallied with two outs to even the score with a pair of home runs from Junior Graham Mastros and a two-run shot from Redshirt Sophomore Brayden Bakes tied the contest at 4-4.

As the two squads battled for the advantage, the Beacons looked to seize the lead in the eighth as a walk and a single placed a runner on third for Valparaiso. With the potential leading run feet away, Senior Thomas Harper delivered a crucial play to cut down the runner at home on a bunt attempt to maintain the tie at 4-4.

In the ninth, after a single and a stolen base, Valparaiso once again placed the leading run in scoring position. Moments later, the Beacons delivered an RBI single to claim the late lead at 5-4.

Trailing once more in the concluding moments of the contest, the Redbirds rallied with a single and a pair of walks to load the bases in the home half of the ninth. With the tying run on third, Carrano Jr. plated the run on a groundout to tie the game at 5-5 and move the winning run to third base to set up Stulga's walkoff.

NOTES

  • Junior Graham Mastros recorded his sixth contest this season with three or more hits with a 3-for-4 performance in the victory.
  • Mastros tallied his 10th home run of the season in the victory and became the third Redbird this season to surpass a double-digit home run total.
  • Redshirt Sophomore Brayden Bakes recorded his team-best 24th multi-hit game of the season with a pair of hits, including a home run in the win. Bakes' two-run blast secured his 13th multi-RBI game of the campaign.
  • Bakes has recorded two or more hits in five of the last six games and extended his reached-base streak to 14 games.
  • Junior Ryan Bakes added two hits in the victory for his 12th multi-hit game of the season.
  • Senior Josh Outlaw tallied a pair of hits, including a double in the win. Outlaw stands one multi-hit game shy of becoming the sixth Redbird to tally 10 games with two or more hits.
  • Junior Luke Stulga recorded two hits, including his walk-off, and became the fourth different Redbird to secure a walk-off hit this season for Illinois State.
  • With his solo home run, Junior Michael Carrano Jr. extended his hitting streak to seven games.
  • The Redbirds recorded 12 hits in the win to move to 24-1 this season in contests in which they have tallied a double-digit hit total. In five of the last six games, Illinois State has notched a double-digit hit total.
  • With three home runs in the contest, Illinois State notched its fifth game with three or more homers this season.
  • The Redbirds improve to 12-0 when they record two or more home runs.

For the latest updates on Illinois State Baseball, stay tuned at GoRedbirds.com, follow the Redbirds on X (formerly Twitter) (@RedbirdBaseball), and Instagram (isuredbirdbaseball), and like the team on Facebook (Illinois State Baseball).

GoRedbirds.com and the Illinois State Redbirds App:  Your sources for Illinois State tickets, Weisbecker Scholarship Fund gifts, multimedia, Redbird merchandise, photos, and more.

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