Redbird Baseball Spring Break Recap

Image courtesy of Illinois State Athletics.

NORMAL, Ill. – Over the past two weeks, the Illinois State University baseball team experienced a mix of explosive offense, standout individual performances, and inconsistent results, finishing the period with notable wins and a series victory.

The Redbirds started with a tough 12–5 loss at Southern Indiana, despite a 4–0 lead in the first inning. Early contributions from Kannon Coakley and Luke Stulga highlighted the game, but a five-run response from Southern Indiana shifted momentum.

Illinois State bounced back with a strong 7–2 win over the Eastern Kentucky Colonels, led by big days from Graham Mastros and Brayden Bakes, each with three hits. Mastros continued his hot start, hitting his fifth home run, while the pitching staff tallied nine strikeouts. The next two games of the series, however, went to Eastern Kentucky with scores of 8–4 and 10–6, as the Redbirds struggled against late-inning surges.

The team regained momentum with an 8–5 win against Saint Louis University, showcasing power with three home runs, including an inside-the-park homer by Michael Carrano. Every starter recorded a hit in the matchup.

Back at home, the Redbirds secured a dramatic 7–6 extra-inning victory over Western Illinois, with Nolan Barry delivering in clutch moments—tying the game in the ninth and walking it off in the 11th. That success led to a doubleheader sweep of Western Illinois (10–7, 7–1), clinching the series. The offense stayed hot, with multiple players recording multi-hit games, and the pitching staff posted back-to-back double-digit strikeout performances. Saturday, the Redbirds held another thriller to cap off the 4-game series and saw a hit-by-pitch 15th-inning walk-off, with the Redbirds securing the win. Individually, Mastros extended his hitting streak to 10 games and maintained his lead in power categories.

Stulga earned Missouri Valley Conference Player of the Week honors after going 13-for-25 with eight RBIs over five games. Reece Clapp shined out of the bullpen the past two weeks, too, earning the Missouri Valley Conference Pitcher of the Week award after striking out 14 batters in 11 shutout innings and going seven innings in the final game against WIU.

Entering the week ahead, the Redbirds sit at 13-7 and hold a home game against Southern Illinois Edwardsville on Wednesday at 3 and a three-game series at home against Belmont starting on Friday at 5 pm and continuing Saturday at 1 and Sunday at 3.

For all things Redbird Baseball, stay tuned to 103.3 WZND and WZND.com.