MURRAY, Ky. – The Illinois State baseball program fell late Thursday morning, 6-4, to No. 3 Murray State at Johnny Reagan Field at Taylor Park.
The Redbirds capitalized early in the contest after a leadoff double from Junior Michael Carrano Jr. and a walk from Junior Luke Stulga placed a pair of runners on the opening moments of the second inning. Moments later, a sacrifice bunt from Senior Josh Outlaw moved Carrano Jr. and Stulga into scoring position as Graduate Camden Karczewski delivered with a two-run single to give the Redbirds a 2-0 advantage.
In the home half, the Racers looked to respond as Murray State loaded the bases with a pair of base hits and a walk. Despite the jam, Redshirt Sophomore Carson Cormier worked out of the jam to maintain Illinois State's 2-0 lead after two.
After a scoreless third, Stulga extended the Redbirds' lead with a leadoff blast in the top of the fourth, pushing the score to 3-0 in favor of Illinois State. In the bottom half of the frame, Murray State responded by plating two runs on a pair of RBI singles, moving the score to 3-2.
The Racers evened the score after a pair of singles placed runners on the corners, as Murray State later capitalized with a sacrifice fly to tie the score at 3-3.
After the Racers tied the score, Illinois State responded as Redshirt Sophomore Brayden Bakes doubled to left center to place a runner in scoring position with two outs. Moments later, Junior Graham Mastros singled up the middle to plate Bakes to reclaim the lead for the Redbirds at 4-3.
In the bottom of the seventh, the Racers loaded the bases following a leadoff single and a pair of walks to open the inning. With the bases loaded, Murray State later capitalized with a hit-by-pitch to even the score at 4-4. The Racers followed with a sacrifice fly to take a 5-4 advantage, and added a run to close out a three-run frame to move in front 6-4.
Trailing late, Illinois State looked to rally as Graduate Payton McHarg walked and Brayden Bakes singled to place two runners on with two outs. Despite the late surge, the Racers secured the final out to claim the victory.
UP NEXT
The No. 6-seeded Redbirds will turn around to take on the No. 5 seed Evansville at 10 a.m. Thursday, May 21, at Johnny Reagan Field at Taylor Family Park. The contest will be available to stream on ESPN+.
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).
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