Redbirds complete series sweep with 13-6 win over Illini

Image courtesy of Illinois State Athletics

NORMAL, Ill. – Illinois State University Baseball bounced back from its four-game skid Tuesday night, rolling past the University of Illinois 13-6 in Champaign to improve to 23-17 on the season. The Redbirds found out a season-high 19 hits in a complete offensive performance, securing their first season sweep over the Fighting Illini since 2010 and extending their winning streak over Illinois to three straight games for the first time since 2005.

The Redbirds wasted no time running up the hits on the Illini. Luke Stulga sparked the offense in the first with an RBI triple before Louis Bussard followed with an RBI double to make it 2-0. Illinois State kept the pressure on in the second when Ryan Bakes launched a two-run home run, his ninth of the season, and Graham Mastros added an RBI single to stretch the lead to 5-0.

The game cracked open with a four-run third inning. Eric Machej crushed a three-run homer, his third of the season, and Brayden Bakes later added an RBI single as the Redbirds built a dominant 9-0 advantage. Illinois answered with a three-run homer in the bottom of the inning, but the Redbirds immediately responded. Machej drove in another run with an RBI double in the fourth before Michael Carrano Jr. delivered a two-run single to push the lead to 12-3.

Illinois State never let the Illini build momentum from there. Illinois scratched across a run in the fifth, but Brayden Bakes added his third double of the night in the seventh inning to score Ryan Bakes and cap the Redbirds’ scoring at 13 runs. Illinois made noise in the ninth, scoring twice and loading the bases, but former Illini pitcher Nolan Girard recorded the final two outs to seal the win.

The Redbirds’ lineup was dominant from top to bottom, as all nine starters recorded a hit for just the second time this season. Six players posted multi-hit performances, led by Brayden Bakes with four hits and a career-high three doubles. Bussard added three hits, while Machej turned in a career night with three hits and four RBIs. On the mound, Illinois State’s starters and bullpen combined for 11 strikeouts, marking the team’s 14th double-digit strikeout game of the season.

Following the game, head coach Steve Holm addressed the team’s response after being swept over the weekend, emphasizing resilience and timely hitting in Tuesday’s win.

“I know our weekend looks like we were 0-3, which is a fact, we were, but we lost two one-run ball games and just didn’t get any hits with runners in scoring position,” Holm said. “Today, we seemed to get all the hits with runners in scoring position. We could have used some of those on the weekend, but ultimately, that’s college baseball. It’s about how you respond to adversity and the bad things that happen, and our guys responded extremely well.”

Ryan Bakes’ two-run homer in the second inning was unofficially measured at 466 feet. Bakes said the home run came after he adjusted to a steady diet of sliders he saw in his first at-bat.

“My first at-bat, he threw a lot of sliders, and I was kind of out front on two of them back-to-back,” Bakes said. “I made an adjustment when I came back up, and Holm told me to stay through the middle of the field. I was sitting on the slider, and then I got it. It was nice to put us up early and give us a big lead at the start.”

The win also reinforced a trend for the Redbirds, who improved to 20-1 when collecting at least 10 hits in a game. With 45 hits over their last three meetings against Illinois, the offense appears to be surging at the right time as Illinois State carries momentum deeper into conference play.

The Redbirds will return home to face the Bradley Braves in a three-game weekend series starting Friday. WZND will have coverage for all the games, with Rachael Deerfield and Camden Swanson on the Friday call, and pregame beginning at 4:50.

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