Birds Fall flat in final game against SIUE
Written by Jason Zaehler on February 16, 2026
Image courtesy of Illinois State Athletics
NORMAL, Ill. – Illinois State University dropped game three of their three game series against Southeast Missouri State University on Sunday, falling 10-1.
The Rebirds regressed heavily offensively, with their lone run coming from a Brayden Bakes home run in the top of the fourth inning. Bakes would be the only player to record two hits in the game.
Redshirt Freshman Luke Teschke made his first career start, getting his first career strikeout. Unfortunately, that was where the fun stopped for the Redbirds as Tesche would give up four runs in 2.1 innings.
Henry Brummel also made his first appearance for the Redbirds. The sophomore transfer from Indiana, drafted by the Milwaukee Brewers in the 20th round of the 2024 MLB June Amateur Draft, had an interesting outing with three strikeouts, 2 walks, 4 hits and three earned runs across 2.1 innings.
The Redbirds took the series 2-1 and now look forward to their matchup against Southern Illinois University Edwardsville on the 17th.
SIUE is starting the year off 1-2 after their low-scoring three-game series against Northern Alabama.
The Panthers were favorites to win the Ohio Valley Conference in 2026 after finishing second in the OVC championship series to Little Rock in 2025.
They return 5 All OVC players from last year, including pitcher and infielder Spencer Stearns, who has a career ERA of 5.16 dating back to 2023
First pitch will be at 3 pm at Roy E. Lee Field in Edwardsville.
For all things Redbird baseball, stay tuned to WZND.
